No plans for this Kildare Municipal District to live stream KCC meetings

There are currently plans for one Municipal District (MD) in County Kildare to live stream its Kildare County Council (KCC) meetings.

The matter was put to a vote at the latest Athy MD meeting, which took place on Monday, April 20 last.

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At approximately the halfway point of the meeting, the MD representatives in attendance were informed by KCC that they had to consider the live streaming of the MD's meetings via a vote, following a referral from a previous full KCC meeting.

The first rep to express their views was Fianna Fáil Cllr Veralouise Behan - while she acknowledged the proposal 'had pros and cons', she added that she ultimately was against the proposal.

"Our meetings are held in public anyway, they are very fluid and open," Cllr Behan added. "Anyone can come into the public gallery to view them."

Another rep who expressed similar sentiments was Labour Party Cllr Angela Feeney, who cited a lack of resources on KCC's end.

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She told the attendees: "I don't think the return would justify live streaming our meetings."

Cllr Breslin further said that she had concerns that KCC employees identified during the meetings could be subjected to abuse due to their participation in the meetings.

She also expressed support for Cllr Behan's point that anyone can come into the public gallery in order to view the meetings.

Lastly, Cllr Breslin pointed out that the minutes of the MD's meetings are always available on the official KCC website.

After the proposal was opened to the floor, all councillors in attendance agreed to reject it.

This decision was proposed by Cllr Behan and seconded by Fianna Fáil Cllr Brian Dooley.

It should be noted that the majority of the county's MDs have to agree to the live streaming proposal in order for it to take effect.

Separately, the Clane-Maynooth MD earlier this month voted down a proposal to live stream its future meetings, while last week, the Kildare-Newbridge MD voted in favour of potentially live streaming its future meetings.

The decisions made by all five of the county's MDs will be examined at the next full KCC meeting.

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Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme