Labour Councillor Mary Freehill is due to be elected the next Lord Mayor of Dublin tonight after her party and Fianna Fail agreed a five-year deal over local authority appointments.
She was nominated by Labour's Dublin Corporation members at a meeting last night. ail. Labour will also hold the office of Deputy Lord Mayor this year, with Mr Brendan Carr nominated for that post.
Under the agreement, the post of Lord Mayor will be held by Fianna Fail three times and Labour twice, while the post of Deputy Lord Mayor will be held three times by Labour and twice by Fianna Fail.
The substance of the deal had already been ratified by both parties, according to Cllr Sean Kenny of the Labour Party delegation. He stressed the agreement dealt only with the allocation of positions and not policy matters.
Alderman Michael Donnelly of the Fianna Fail delegation said there was "no real sticking point" in the negotiations, adding the issue of which party held the Lord Mayor post for the Millennium year "probably seemed more important to Labour".
There had been speculation that Fianna Fail would object if Mr Eric Byrne was nominated by Labour, as it could strengthen his chances of winning the forthcoming Dublin South Central by-election. However, Mr Noel Ahern TD, another member of the Fianna Fail team, said "individuals did not come into it." He said "we have no veto on their nomination".
The agreement covers appointments to other posts, including those on the local VEC, regional authority and health board. With 34 of the 52 local authority seats between them, the two parties will be able to control key positions on the corporation's strategic policy committees. The holders of such posts will, for the first time, be paid £4,000 a year under a new local authority salary scheme.
Independent Cllr Mr Tony Gregory TD said the deal showed that for Labour, "principles counted for nothing when political appointments are at stake. With Labour constantly attacking Fianna Fail in the Dail, it seems incredible that they would put them in control of the Mansion House". Condemning the "undemocratic arrangement", Mr Gregory reiterated his call for the Lord Mayor to be elected directly by the people of Dublin.
For the first time this year, TDs and Senators were banned from running for the post, thus ruling out 12 of Fianna Fail's 20 councillors and four of Labour's 14.
A social worker with the National Rehabilitation Board, Cllr Freehill became involved in Dublin politics through working with the Housing Action Committee in the late 1960s. She first stood for local elections in 1974 and was co-opted to the Dublin City Council in 1977, taking the seat of Mr Ruairi Quinn when he was elected to the Dail.
She lost her seat in 1985 but regained it in 1991. Within the council, she is best known for her work as chairwoman of the cultural committee in recent years.
Due to renovations at City Hall, tonight's vote will take place at the Civic Museum on South William Street, the location where Daniel O'Connell was elected the first Catholic Lord Mayor in November 1841.
