Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 28 June 2022
255. Deputy Brian Leddin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the progress that has been made on the development of live streaming guidelines for official meetings as referenced in his Department’s action plan to deliver non-pay recommendations set out in the Moorhead Report; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33800/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraFollowing the publication of the Independent Review of the Role and Remuneration of Local Authority Elected Members, led by Ms Sara Moorhead SC, I established a working group of local government stakeholders to examine the non-pay related recommendations of the Review and to draw up an Action Plan in that regard. This includes actions to examine the possibility of video conferencing facilities to allow remote attendance at and the live streaming of local authority meetings.
Section 45(5) of the Local Government Act 2001 provides that a local authority may, by standing orders, regulate the right of members of the public and members of the media to be present at meetings of the local authority. This provision includes the making, by standing orders, of rules in relation to the recording or relaying of the proceedings as they take place or at a later stage.
It is therefore a matter for the elected members of each local authority to decide in the first instance if they wish to webcast local authority meetings, and then to provide for the necessary resources, including funding from their annual budget, to enable the provision of the necessary facilities to allow for meetings to be webcast or live streamed.
As it is the case that a number of local authorities have already invested in the necessary technology important good practice learnings can be taken from their experiences of live streaming meetings, which can be shared across the local authority network.
