Direct elections for lord mayors: Job pointless without real authority

Too many of the reactions to the latest round of discussions on the idea of directly-elected mayors for some cities were sadly indicative of how the trust, the mutual sense of participation, between citizens and elected representatives has become so very stretched.

The most strident responses came from those who were outraged,or at least pretended to be outraged,by the idea that an elected lord mayor might be paid €130,000 a year — a fraction of what some of RTÉ’s “talent” is paid, even though the responsibilities involved are not comparable. In the grand scheme of things, the rate for the job is the least important element of the idea under consideration.