'I think we would be a ratings hit', says Limerick councillor on streaming of meetings

COUNCILLORS have again delayed making a decision on whether meetings should be streamed and available for download.

It comes despite one member, Cllr Elisa O'Donovan saying she believes meetings of Limerick's local authority could be a "ratings hit" online.

The full March council meeting was abandoned after a clash between priomh-chomhairleoir Catherine Slattery and Mayor John Moran last month.

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It resumed on Monday, with a motion from Mayor Moran calling for the recording, storage and archiving of meetings to be made available.

Councillors wanted the motion amended to cover the recording of every single meeting linked to Limerick council.

This would include meetings of Limerick Twenty Thirty, and the mayoral implementation committee.

Members had sought information on the additional cost of this at the last meeting, but local authority officials were unable to provide this.

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As a result of this, a call was made for the discussion to be adjourned until these figures were available.

On Monday, Fianna Fail council leader Michael Collins said: “We are broadly in favour of the recording of our meetings. The mayor used the words ‘in the interests of transparency’. We support transparency as well. In the interests of transparency, I proposed an amendment that all statutory meetings be included in this.”

He said it is unfair to expect members to decide without the full costs available.

“To decide on this wholly, we need a proper value on everything,” Cllr Collins said.

Deputy council director general Joe Delaney said the additional filming would incur a “significant” extra cost.

“But it won’t be double the cost we initially gave which was up to €40,000,” he said, in reference to the sum of just streaming the full monthly meetings.

Mayor Moran said in the absence of the costings for the recording of every meeting, his original motion should just proceed.

This would mean only full council meetings would be archived. “It has to be all or nothing,” said Cllr Collins, however.

Two councillors, Frankie Daly, Independent and Stephen Keary, Fine Gael, said the money would be better spent elsewhere.

Fine Gael council leader John Sheahan claimed the numbers who actually do watch back the meetings in other authorities across the country is minimal.

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The discussion was adjourned, and a special council meeting will take place in the coming weeks to make a final decision on streaming.

Mayor Moran has said he wants streaming to be ready for the May full council meeting.