Fingal councillors to discuss if hybrid meetings are to be allowed

Fingal County Council are to hold a discussion with all members at its “Organisation, Procedures and Finance” meeting on this afternoon which will decide if council meetings will be facilitated in a hybrid manner – allowing councillors and staff to take part in meetings both in person and online.

Green Party councillors, which supports the proposal, said that the council has the technology in place to allow accommodate both in person and online attendees.

The technology was trialed at a number of different council meetings earlier this year.

Following this trial all councillors were asked to consider whether to proceed with facilitating council meetings in a hybrid fashion, and if so, under which circumstances should hybrid meetings be allowed.

Green Party councillors are calling for a hybrid model to be facilitated for all council meetings arguing it provides for more inclusive participation in local politics.

Councillor Karen Power said: “As it stands, local government in Ireland is experiencing a democratic deficit.

“The female population is represented by only 25% of elected councillors.

“Childcare, lack of maternity and parental leave, unsociable meeting times are some of the barriers which have prevented female representatives from fully participating in political life.

“We believe facilitating hybrid meetings can help to remove some of these barriers and encourage more female representation at local council level.”

Power said that it was important to emphasize that people will be still able to attend meetings in-person if they wish, “but rather it can encourage and facilitate more diversity and wider participation.

“The current situation in Fingal means we have policy decisions that impact on the lives of disabled people being made by people whose lives are not directly affected.

“By removing the need for in person attendance at meetings we enable active inclusive participation in these policy decisions.”

The group have sourced letters of support from a variety of advocacy groups including National Women’s Council of Ireland, Independent Living Movement of Ireland, disability rights activist Selina Bonnie, See Her Elected, Women for Election and Inclusion Ireland.

In her response to the group, Disability Rights Activist Selina Bonnie highlighted how, on a personal level, the ability to participate in a virtual manner had enabled her, “a disabled person (wheelchair user), a mother and full time employee to re-engage in a variety of groups which I had stepped away from over the past decade”.

The discussion on hybrid meetings is due to take place today at 4pm.