Members of the Mayo public may soon be able to judge for themselves how well their councillors are representing them in the council chamber, by watching them at work, live on the internet.
That is if one Fianna Fáil councillor is successful in her campaign to have Mayo County Council’s monthly meetings live streamed or broadcast online as podcasts.
At the monthly meeting of Mayo County Council on Monday, Councillor Lisa Chambers will ask her elected colleagues to support her motion calling on the authority to explore the possibility and costs involved in such a project.
Cllr Chambers said she believes broadcasting the meetings would encourage more people to take an interest in the business of local government.
It would also allow greater scrutiny of council meetings and enable people to see for themselves how their local county councillor represents them in the chamber.
“I view a lot of news and information online via my phone and tablet,” she explained. “More and more young people are doing the same.
“There is a record of these meetings in the form of typed versions of the minutes, but most people would not be bothered to go online and read the minutes. People would be more open to going online to view a video or listen to a podcast.
“I think it would increase engagement and lead to greater transparency.”
Although meetings of the council are open to the public, Cllr Chambers said that, for most, it is just not possible to attend and so the public miss out on alot of what goes on in local government.
“The minutes are not sufficient to really see what goes on. It is all about the interaction in the chamber and you miss that context if you are only seeing the minutes. You are not getting a true reflection of the meeting.”
Cllr Chambers’ motion is to be discussed at the meeting of Mayo County Council on Monday afternoon at 3 pm in Aras An Chontae, Castlebar.
