Local government needs public input, says Gormley

DIRECTLY elected mayors could be running cities and counties across Ireland within five years, Environment Minister John Gormley said yesterday.

Unveiling plans for what he dubbed the most sweeping reforms of local government in the State’s history, the Green minister called for voters to help determine the scale of the shake-up.

However, Fine Gael and Labour hit out at the plans to have a popularly elected mayor of Dublin in place by 2011 as too slow, demanding changes within two years. Mr Gormley launched a campaign to get grassroots input into how to reform local government ahead of a discussion paper on the matter to be published in January.