A vote on directly elected mayors has passed in Limerick, but has been rejected in Cork and Waterford.
Limerick City and County Council said the plebiscite saw 52.4% vote Yes, while 47.6% said No.
#Limerick votes in favour of #MayoralPlebiscite #LimerickCount pic.twitter.com/1jUx7491OS
— Limerick Council - Comhairle Luimnigh (@LimerickCouncil) May 27, 2019
However, the measure narrowly failed to pass in Waterford and Cork.
Some 49.2% of people in Waterford voted Yes, with 50.8% voting against it.
It was also a close call in Cork, but the proposal was ultimately rejected:
BREAKING: Cork REJECTS directly elected mayor proposals.
Yes: 33,365
No: 34,347
68,682 ballots cast
971 invalid papers#Cork #plebiscite pic.twitter.com/dQPuAGWYxk— Niall Colbert (@NiallColbert1) May 27, 2019
The plebiscites are non-binding.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has responded to the results - welcoming the decision in Limerick, and saying he's 'sorry' it narrowly failed in Waterford and Cork.
He suggested a vote on the proposal could be held in Dublin next:
Pleased that Limerick has voted to have Ireland’s first Directly Elected Mayor. Real opportunity for the city & county to get ahead. Will be backed by central government. Sorry it was narrowly defeated in Cork and Waterford. Dublin next.
— Leo Varadkar (@LeoVaradkar) May 27, 2019
Plebiscites
Voters in the three areas were asked if they approved a proposal that would allow the people of their council area to directly elect a mayor.
They would be granted executive functions for a five-year term under the proposal.
At present, the mayor of a council is elected for a one-year term by other councillors.
Under the Government proposal, the directly elected mayor would have more functions than a Mayor or Lord Mayor currently has - including some or all of the executive functions held by the relevant chief executive.
Tánaiste Simon Coveney has indicated the Government may be prepared to ask the question again if the idea is rejected.
He said:
"Even if people say no we'll take that message - we may well have to come back and ask the question again in the future if that's what people want.
"We'll gauge the reaction when we count the votes".
