Councillors quiet on proposal to live stream meetings

Apart from Sinn Féin’s Stiofán Conaty, the urgency to live stream council meetings was met with little enthusiasm.

The Ballyhaise representative had tabled a motion at the April monthly meeting seeking to discuss a report produced for the Corporate Policy Group regarding the potential live streaming of Cavan County Council meetings.

This followed a suggestion he made several months ago, which prompted the consideration. The council’s executive was subsequently tasked with exploring a range of pros and cons, including costs, risks, and practicality, as seen in other areas across the country.

“Having read the report, I still believe we should open up our meetings and broadcast them to the public. I think, in the interests of transparency and clarity, it’s a no-brainer,” he said, explaining that, regarding additional costs, the equipment for recording is already available in the chamber. “However, to ensure high-quality delivery, live streaming across multiple platforms is estimated to cost €25,000-30,000 a year.”

Streaming directly to YouTube alone would cost significantly less, at €5,582 per year, while live streaming via Microsoft Teams would incur “minimal or zero costs,” though the service would be “more basic and possibly more difficult for the public to access”.

The option of recording the meetings and releasing them on the council’s website afterwards was also considered.

“In terms of how these recordings might affect the nature of meetings, the report suggests meetings could become more formal, and there’s a risk of ‘playing to the camera’. We also need to consider the absence of statutory defamation privilege and GDPR factors. Additionally, it could limit our ability to move meetings out of the council chamber,” he added.

Summarising his own view, Cllr Conaty said he believes the council should “go ahead with it. Whatever form it takes - be it full live streaming or simply publishing recordings - I’d be happy with either. The costs aren’t huge, and I think the benefits are worth it. While other councils have reported very low viewing figures, I believe it’s still important that the public who elected us have a chance to see firsthand the work being done on their behalf.”

Although Cllr Conaty’s motion was for “discussion” of the report’s findings, he was met with almost complete silence until his Sinn Féin colleague Damien Brady offered his support.

“There’s not much discussion,” noted Cathaoirleach John Paul Feeley.

“I had hoped there would be some,” replied Cllr Conaty, who was asked if he wished to take the matter to a vote. Members could then decide by show of hands whether to proceed with the technology.

Cllr Feeley, now in his second term as Cathaoirleach, suggested to Cllr Conaty that some elected members might have concerns about the potential loss of “privilege” when speaking in a statutory forum.

He added that he was only one of 18 councillors and was cautious not to speak on behalf of the entire chamber, leaving others free to share their opinions if they wished.

Again, Cllr Conaty was given the opportunity to put his proposal to a vote but chose not to press the issue further.

* Published with support from the Local Democracy Scheme