Local Government Act 2019

• The transfer of territory to Cork City Council area from Cork County Council area, with effect from the 2019 local elections, thereby implementing the Cork Local Government Implementation Oversight Group's recommendations
• The provision of plebiscites, which were held alongside the May 2019 local elections, to approve the principle of directly elected mayors for Cork City Council, Limerick City and County Council, and Waterford City and County Council, rejected in Cork and Waterford and only passed in Limerick. The proposed directly elected mayor for the Dublin metropolitan area was excluded from the act because of the greater complexity of the debate across four local government areas, with Fingal County Council having opposed previous proposals. Galway was also excluded because of the ongoing plans to merge Galway City Council and Galway County Council. On 2 April 2019 the government published more detailed proposals, agreed at the 20 March 2019 cabinet meeting, for the plebiscites and, for those passed, holding mayoral elections and granting powers to mayors. On 11 April 2019 the Dáil approved draft regulations for the plebiscites to take place. The Referendum Commission was not responsible for the plebiscites.

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