With council meetings taking place over Zoom, the next logical step is for them to be made available online to the public, which is why opposition to this from some councillors makes no sense.
This is the view of People Before Profit Galway spokesperson Adrian Curran, who was speaking in advance of the Galway City Council meeting, to be held on Monday February 8, which will discuss this issue.
PBP Galway is calling for meetings to be live streamed “without delay”.
Mr Curran noted that Section 45 of the Local Government Act, 2014 states that “members of the public and representatives of the media are entitled to be present at a meeting of a local authority”, and he was strongly critical of those councillors who are opposed to people attending meetings virtually.
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PBP Galway's Adrian Curran.
“Given the current public health guidelines, the only practical way of abiding by the Local Government Act is to make a stream of the meetings available to the public as well as the media," he said. “I would seriously question the motives of councillors who oppose or further delay this proposal. Accountability and transparency are vital. What do they have to fear from scrutiny from the people who elect them?”
Mr Curran called for various council strategic policy committees to be included in online streaming, and he also called on the Galway County Council to make its meetings accessible online.
