On the record vote ends Limerick Council live-streaming saga

COUNCILLORS voted against the recording of full plenary meetings of Limerick City and County Council, instead agreeing for meetings...

COUNCILLORS voted against the recording of full plenary meetings of Limerick City and County Council, instead agreeing for meetings to be live-streamed going forward.

At Monday’s meeting of the local authority, councillors voted against recording the full plenary meetings by 26 votes to 12, with one councillor seizing the opportunity to call on Government to consider giving councillors full privilege (protection from legal action) at their meetings.

“Could I make a proposal that this Council writes to the Minister for Housing and Local Government to extend the full privilege enjoyed by Oireachtas members to all 950 councillors?” Fine Gael councillor John Sheahan asked.

Before a vote was defeated on recording the full meetings in the Dooradoyle chamber, party leaders called for an adjournment to discuss the matter privately with the Mayor.

The proposal before Council members from Mayor John Moran read: “I will move that this Council agrees, subject to the necessary administrative, legal, procurement, and data protection arrangements being put in place, and with financial support secured so as to protect existing core services in 2026, that all meetings of the full Council held after the adoption of this resolution shall be live-streamed and recorded in full by audio and video means, and that such recordings shall be made publicly available on the Council’s website no later than two business days following the conclusion of each meeting, without necessary barriers or registration requirements.”

Ultimately, on the return of party leaders and Mayor Moran to the chamber, an agreement of sorts was reached to vote on either live-streaming and recording meetings, or just live-streaming them.

Confusion quickly reigned as councillors struggled to grasp what they were voting on.

“We went for a party leaders’ meeting to clear and clarify this, and it has been made more complicated now. We’ve had discussion to and fro about live streaming, about recording, about everything of the meeting,” Cllr Sheahan insisted.

“All we need here is a bit of goodwill. If Motion 20 is withdrawn, all amendments will be withdrawn. We have a clean sheet. Someone proposes live streaming and recording. We vote on it. If that passes, deal done. If that fails, someone proposes live-streaming. And if that passes, we go live-streaming. It is as simple as that, lads,” he explained.

Councillors unanimously voted for live-streaming by 39 votes.