*Zoom was used for SPC meetings whereas full Council & MD meetings utilise Microsoft Teams.
ONGOING TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES at local authority sittings has prompted a Kilkee representative to call for action.
Since the onset of the pandemic, hybrid meetings have been introduced for Clare County Council and Municipal District meetings.
At the July meeting of the West Clare Municipal District, technical glitches delayed the start of the sitting by fifteen minutes while the contribution of Cllr PJ Kelly (FF) who was attending remotely could not be heard.
Similarly, remote participants were unable to hear what was said in the Chamber throughout the sitting.
Having opted for the in-person option over remote where possible, the patience of Cllr Cillian Murphy (FF) had worn thin last week. “Can we make sure all our future meetings are held in person, the system isn’t working. I understand some people will struggle to get in and out to the Chamber but for 100 years that the Council was in existence people had to make the effort to get in for the meeting,” he stated.
Cathaoirleach of the West Clare MD, Cllr Shane Talty (FF) admitted he disagreed “slightly” with his colleague but said another blended meeting will not be taking place from the Council Chamber. “It has to be possible of doing a way of blended meetings whether it is in the board room or the hub”.
Cllr Talty acknowledged that The Clare Echo was the only media outlet present in-person for the meeting but told colleagues that The Clare Champion attempted to attend remotely but could hear nothing.
No technical difficulties have been encountered at the hybrid meetings of the Ennis Municipal District which have been held in the Ennis 2040 boardroom in the Clare Museum building.
In January of last year, Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG) tabled a motion before the County Council seeking the introduction of a streaming service to allow for members of the public to view meetings and to have a structured form of remote attendance for elected members.
Director of Finance and Support Services with the Council, Noeleen Fitzgerald had cautioned in response that Flynn’s proposal “would require a major upgrade to the technology in the Council Chamber to provide high quality stream”.
As previously reported by The Clare Echo, the current hybrid system is seeing the Council pay €650 plus VAT per meeting for a sound engineer and technician.
