New Lord Mayor of Dublin launches ‘Our Dublin’ agenda to forcefully confront urban dereliction and prioritise public safety

At the annual meeting of Dublin City Council, Councillor Daryl Barron (Fianna Fáil) was tonight officially elected as the 359th Lord Mayor of Dublin, succeeding outgoing Lord Mayor, Councillor Ray McAdam. 

Representing the Donaghmede Local Electoral Area since 2019, Lord Mayor Daryl Barron brings extensive community sector, finance, and corporate governance experience to the Mansion House. In his inaugural address, he outlined a focused, results-driven mandate, anchored by the theme ‘Our Dublin’, promising to restore civic trust by focusing squarely on the delivery of local initiatives across our city. 

Lord Mayor Daryl Barron’s Mayoralty will be driven by three decisive executive pillars: 

1. A Safer and Cleaner Capital: Deploying an aggressive ‘Cleaner Dublin Initiative’ with expanded direct labour staff and dedicated Community Wardens, alongside a formal partnership with An Garda Síochána to rapidly scale town-centre policing and establish an assigned Transport Police unit.
2. Tackling Dereliction, Vacancy, and the Housing Crisis: Setting up a pioneering Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) in September 2026 to aggressively target, acquire, and remediate vacant urban properties, while doubling down on the direct-building of affordable housing on council sites.
3. Empowering Youth and Honouring Communities: Launching the ‘Lord Mayor’s Community Leaders Awards’ across every electoral area to recognise grassroots sports and volunteer organisations, alongside a targeted rollout of multi-sport facilities and park upgrades. 

In his Inaugural Address, Lord Mayor Cllr Daryl Barron stated "A great capital city cannot survive on potential alone; it survives on delivery, which in turn, enables it to thrive. When foundational pillars like security, cleanliness, and housing, fracture, civic trust fractures with them. This year, we restore that trust. By going back to the basics, which underpin our great city, we will put our vibrant communities back on the map. 

The Mansion House will not be a place of passive stewardship; it will be an engine room of executive action. From the street corners to this council chamber, we will clear the litter, build the homes our people deserve, and ensure public security is treated as a basic essential, not a luxury." 

The incoming Lord Mayor also referenced the imminent international focus on the city, as Dublin takes centre stage for the upcoming Presidency of the Council of the European Union, pledging to use the platform to drive economic resilience and strengthen local democracy. Furthermore, he called on central government to structurally empower the city in Budget 2027 by introducing a localised Visitors Levy Tax to fund public realm infrastructure without overburdening local rate-paying businesses. 

Councillor Alison Field was elected as the Deputy Lord Mayor of Dublin at this evening’s meeting. 

ENDS

Photo Caption:

At the annual meeting of Dublin City Council, Councillor Daryl Barron was tonight officially elected as the 359th Lord Mayor of Dublin, succeeding outgoing Lord Mayor Councillor Ray McAdam. 

Pictured is Lord Mayor of Dublin Daryl Barron with his wife Orla and son Niall (age 1) accompanied by Peter Hendrick ADC to the Lord Mayor.