Future Kildare-Newbridge Municipal District meetings could be live streamed soon

Future Kildare-Newbridge Municipal District meetings could potentially be live streamed soon, following a recent vote in the official Kildare County Council (KCC) Chamber.

The matter was raised at the latest MD meeting, which took place on Wednesday, April 15 last.

Near the end of the meeting, the councillors 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.

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Speaking ahead of the vote, Social Democrats Cllr Chris Pender expressed support for live streaming the MD's future meetings.

He said: "It's important for people to see local Council matters."

Another supporter was Fianna Fáil Cllr Rob Power, who told KCC: "I don't see any harm in allowing the live streaming of meetings."

In addition, the Mayor of the MD, Fianna Fáil Cllr Noel Heavey, said that he felt that live streaming the MD's meetings 'would help strengthen our democracy further'.

The matter was put to a vote, and as there was no counter-proposal, the matter was agreed upon by the councillors (However, Fianna Fáil Cllr Suzanne Doyle and Independent Cllr Tom McDonnell were not present at the time of the vote).

Cllr Pender then proceeded to clarify one point to those in attendance in the public gallery: "The majority of the MDs have to agree to this, and two more have yet to vote on it, so the live streaming [of this MD's meetings] is yet to be implemented."

Separately, the Clane-Maynooth MD earlier this month voted down a proposal to live stream its future meetings.

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Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme