Local elections are held in Ireland every 5 years in the month of May or June. At these elections, members of the local community elect Councillors to represent the community in local authorities.

Dublin is governed by Dublin City Council (http://www.dublincity.ie) which is presided over by the Lord Mayor of Dublin, who is elected for a yearly term and resides in the Mansion House. The council meetings take place in the headquarters at Dublin City Hall, Dublin City Council has 52 Members, known as Councillors. They are elected using Proportional Representation using the Single Transferable Vote.

The party with the majority of seats decides who sits on what committee, what policies are followed, and who becomes Lord Mayor. Chaired by the Lord Mayor, the Council passes an annual budget for spending on housing, traffic management, refuse, drainage, planning, etc.

There are five Area Committees in Dublin City Council and these are based on electoral area boundaries. The Area Committees deal with local issues at a local level. The Area Committees meet every month to discuss councillors' questions to the area manager, local planning, engineering, transport, development and general services issues. Each committee is made up of 10 Councillors and 5 people representing various nominated organisations active in Dublin City. An elected representative chairs the committee.

The most recent round of local elections took place in Ireland on Friday, 11th June, 2004. The next round of local elections will take place in 2009.

To vote:

• You do not have to be an Irish citizen to vote in a local election.
• You must be over 18 years of age and you must live in the local electoral area.
• You must be registered on the Register of Electors compiled every year by County and City Councils.
• You may not vote in both a County Council and a City Council election.

More information: http://www.dublin.ie/politics/home.htm