Newbridge Cllr calling on support for webcasting of Council meetings in advance of Monday's KCC meeting. However, fellow Cllr warns the motion needs far greater debate and consideration

Having only recently confirmed her intention to contest the local elections on May 24, the Newbridge based Cllr (above) has welcomed the agreement of the Council’s Protocol Committee to recommend her proposal to full council , that is, "to remove the barrier to recording public meetings in council currently contained in the Council’s Standing Orders".

"After 5 years as a Councillor, I believe that the recording and webcasting of Council meetings would significantly improve the accountability, behaviour and performance of local Councillors and Council officials" she stated.

Cllr Morgan McCabe (above) has voiced his concerns regarding the cost and use of Council resources for live webcam streaming.

"The Council estimated it would cost roughly €15k a year to run and my question is: how many people will actually watch the full coverage of council meetings?

"I would be concerned that it will led to a lot of 'grandstanding' and 'dramatics' on certain issues.  Councillors who support this are very active on social media and I would hate to see 'selective' cuts from meetings aired.  When it comes to full Council meetings, there would a huge listing of motions and issues to be discussed, an average of 44 per meeting - laborious work and many,  not headline makers so my concern is that we'd have the more vocal and dramatic debates aired across social media..."

Cllr McCabe further noted "There is no privilege within the Council Chamber (such as in the Dáil) and therefore, Councillors and the County Council could be exposed to legal litigation for libel. This motion needs far more debate and proper investigation".

A year ago, Cllr McLoughlin Healy proposed a similar motion, which was not upheld, with the voting roughly:

11 For

22 Against 

(7   Absent)