Councillors at loggerheads over 'zoom only' meeting to discuss county development plan

Paul Murphy

A SERIOUS difference of opinion has arisen among Meath county councillors over the proposed use of “zoom only” meetings of the council to consider the county development plan for the next six years.

Up to the Christmas period, most of the 40 members of the council had been meeting physically at the Solstice Theatre in Navan, with a small number participating by zoom. Meetings held twice a week had been limited to 115 minutes due to Cocvid-19 guidelines.

However, 24 councillors of the two main parties on the council, Fianna Fail and Fine Gael and a Social Democrat councillor have agreed they will participate by zoom meetings. Nine members of a technical group along with three Sinn Fein councillors and two independent councillors say they will refuse to participate in any meetings conducted by zoom only.

A council spokesperson said that the meeting planned for Monday would go ahead. The most recent announcement by Government on January 6th had deemed planning to be an essential service and in light of this the council had an obligation to continue the review of the county plan in accordance with statutory frameworks. In this regard, there was both the technical capability and legal provisions to enable the county council to meet remotely and take statutory decisions via an online platform.

The official also said that members of the press and public would be enabled to view the meeting remotely. It would also be possible to extend the length of each meeting from the current 115 minutes.

Independent Cllr Joe Bonner called for consideration of the county development plan 2021-2027 to be delayed for six months to allow the Covid-19 situation to “calm down”. He said that the county development plan, while important, was “not a matter of life or death” and he was calling on the Minister for the Environment to allow a postponement of all county development plans for the moment.

Fine Gael whip on the council Cllr Gerry O’Connor said that the Minister had already said that he was not minded to stop the county development plan process. He said that councillors had a statutory duty to go ahead with the plan and the Minister had already introduced legislation to allow meetings to be held by zoom. The development plan process in Meath had started in 2016 and there had been delays but it was now time to go forward and bring in the plan as soon as it was practicable.

Cllr Damien O’Reilly, Fianna Fail, said: “Looking forward to embracing technology on Monday like the multinationals we hope to attract to the county”.

Independent Cllr Brian Fitzgerald of the technical group said that nine members of his group were firmly against “zoom only” meetings for a variety of reasons including some members’ ability to handle the technical side of zooming. It would also be impossible for members to be able to consider large volumes of technical detail and mapping while online. Another independent councillor, Nick Killian, said that some members of the council did not feel they were sufficiently qualified to handle the technology involved in zoom meetings.

Sinn Fein Cllr Eddie Fennessy said his party had a number of problems with the “zoom only” meetings. The review of the development plan was the single most important piece of work that councillors would undertake over the next seven year and it required full undivided and involved participation. That was simply not possible due to the current restrictions, he said.

One of their members, Cllr Aisling O’Neill was a full-time nurse at Connolly Hospital and because the hospital was at full capacity she could not participate in the county plan discussions. Another member of the council, Michael Gallagher lived in an area which had one of the worst broadband connections in the county and the service was too unreliable to allow him to participate.

Independent Cllr Nick Killian, in a letter to council cathaoirleach, Cllr David Gilroy, said he felt his and many of his colleagues wishes of continuing the meetings by 'hybrid' option (zoom and in-person presence) were being "ignored" and that he would not be participating.

Cllr Killian said that while some councillors were adept with IT, he was not and therefore did not have confidence in the online process particularly when it came to CDP section discussing the Settlement section and the various motions with Maps.

"As an elected public representative there is an onus of responsibility on all of us to represent the views, concerns of the people I represent in the most appropriate manner, for me this through the Hybrid option.

"I therefore as has been outlined by Cllr Fitzgerald, will not be participating online on Monday online and in my view the decision taken by the Corporate Policy and the whips from the Fianna Fail and Fine Gael was undemocratic.

"David as Cathaoirleach, I fully realise that you are in a very difficult position, but would very respectfully point out that you were selected by your peers in the Independent Technical group to the important position, Cathaoirleach of Meath County Council."

Aontu's Cllr Emer Toibin said the latest proposal to host remote sittings only of Meath County Council were a step too far and would only serve to undermine councillors’ ability to produce as good a county-wide development plan as possible.

"How can it be expected that 40 councillors, the Council Executive and countless support staff engage in very lengthy planning sessions, review hundreds of motions, and properly debate issues and proposed planning via Zoom? The likely problematic running of these meetings due to the sizeable number of contributors is a recipe for confusion, delay, missed opportunities and substandard output. It is an affront to the constituents in this county that the Executive is overseeing and sanctioning the limitations of this essential process through remote sessions."

Cllr Toibin called for the remote sitting proposal to be deferred and instead for in-person sittings to be held when the current restrictions are lifted.

"We are all committed to getting this Development Plan ratified and implemented. When conditions allow, let’s resume our work in person and give this extremely important plan the time and deliberation it needs so that the best interests of Meath people are served. Councillors get one opportunity every six years to make a real impact on planning policy in this county on behalf of their constituents.

"To deny the Councillors the proper forum to discuss and vote on this plan is also to offer no less than a veto to the people of Meath in terms of their objectives and needs for their county."