Presidential vote fallout sparks criticism at council meeting

Confusion and frustration dominated Meath County Council’s October meeting as councillors reflected on the recent controversial vote to endorse a candidate for the upcoming presidential election, a vote that ultimately failed.

Navan Aontú Cllr Emer Toibin led the criticism, saying the process was mishandled from the start. She cited poor communication, unclear procedures, and technical failings during the hybrid meeting, which saw entrepreneur Gareth Sheridan fall just short of the required support to secure the Council’s nomination.

“As you recall, the meeting had to be suspended at one stage to add clarity to the many questions submitted by various councillors,” said Cllr Toibin. “But even after the suspension, the answers were not appropriate to the questions raised. Further confusion arose when the third and final vote was taken.”

Toibin added that although 16 or 17 councillors were due to make presentations in support of the candidates, only seven ended up doing so, contributing further to the sense of disorganisation.

“This is a very serious matter,” she added. “Presidential endorsement votes only come around every seven or even fourteen years. A dry run or mock vote wouldn’t have gone amiss.”

Toibin also recounted how one councillor missed the final vote after stepping away, returning to find it already underway.

Her concerns were echoed by Aontú Trim Cllr Dave Boyne, who said the process left him confused and led to him abstaining from the final vote.

“I myself was confused at the whole situation, and that’s why I abstained,” he said. “In terms of technical issues, I’d like this rule about having the camera on to be scrapped.”

Cllr Boyne said that his objection was based on practical concerns rather than principle. He said video feeds often eat up bandwidth and can lead to poor connectivity or dropped calls. Speaking afterwards he added that effective teleconferencing has existed since the 1990s without the need for cameras, and insisted he remains fully committed to participating in council business regardless of format.

However, Ratoath Independent Cllr Nick Killian disagreed strongly, arguing that councillors attending remotely must remain visible and accountable.

“I don’t agree with Cllr Boyne. All cameras should remain on. If you’re online, you should stay online. We meet once a month, it’s an important day in our lives as councillors.

“The screen was a mess the last day. You couldn’t tell who was on or off. It wasn’t fair from the point of view of presentations.”

Kells Sinn Féin Cllr Michael Gallagher said the only way to avoid further issues would be to hold all future votes of this significance in person.

“I would suggest the next time it should be all done in person, as the other way only leads to confusion.”

The Council had originally adjourned the meeting in an attempt to bring clarity to the process, but the fallout has led to ongoing questions about whether councillors were fully informed or equally able to participate, particularly those attending online.

Council Chief Executive Kieran Kehoe acknowledged the confusion in the room during the vote but defended the decision to insist on cameras being switched on during virtual participation.

“We adjourned the meeting for a specific purpose and recognised there was confusion in the room. We’re going to insist on having cameras on because, as we move into discussions on the County Development Plan, we’ll be getting into very serious votes with serious implications for the county.”

The Council’s Cathaoirleach Wayne Harding echoed the need for greater discipline and transparency during hybrid meetings.

“There’s an onus on us as councillors. If we’re Zooming into a meeting, we need to hear and see clearly what’s going on. Cameras going on and off just isn’t good enough.”