Cllrs told to get back in the room for meetings

A MEATH councillor said it was time that all councillors get back to work and attend full in-person council meetings.

Cllr Joe Bonner said he wanted to see councillors return to the council chamber rather than attending zoom meetings. “The country is back at work and for all intents and purposes everything is back to normal.

“The hybrid meetings – where some councillors were on zoom and some physically at the meetings worked well during the pandemic, but having everyone together in the one room is better it leads to a more constructive conversation,” he said.

“I think we are losing out by not all being in the one room,” he said.

“People are distracted and it is hard to give the same attention to the meeting when it isn't a full in-person meeting.

“We want to get the country up and running again, so we, the councillors, need to lead by example and get back to place of work.

“The hybrid meetings are less interactive and less spontaneous and sometimes it can even be hard to tell who is at a meeting.

“People are logging in and out, there can be poor network connections and councillors are doing other things.

“We have been elected to represent our constituents and in order to get the proper dynamic, we should all be in one room.”

Cllr Bonner said that accommodation could be made for those who have genuine health concerns or are living with those who have. “Special arrangements could be made where this is genuinely is the case,” he said.

Cllr Bonner said the council were considering moving the full council meetings to Buvinda House, but he felt they would be better back in the council chamber. They have been held in the Solstice Arts Centre over the past few years to facilitate social distancing.

“It is not a casual forum, it is a formal meeting to do our duty to our county.

“We were elected to represent the people in a formal setting and where we can meet with the local authority executive,” he said.

He recalled attempts in the past to get rid of the Ashbourne municipal chamber, but the councillors had resisted that.

“The chamber is where the business of the area takes place.

“If we lose that, we are taking away the significance of the role,” he said.

“We represent the community. The community is back at work and we need to be back in the chamber,” he said.