Agenda and minutes

Order: Agreed

Order: Noted and recommend to Council

Ø  Cllr. Andrew Montague. “Towards a National Planning Framework”. Gibson Hotel, Dublin. 9^th March 2017

Ø  Cllr. Declan Flanagan. National Nzeb Conference – “Delivering fast track and affordable nearly zero energy buildings”. Riverside Park Hotel, Enniscorthy. 2^nd March 2017  

Order: Agreed and recommend  to Council

Ø  Cllr. Declan Flanagan. National Nzeb Conference – “Delivering fast track and affordable nearly zero energy buildings”.

Ø  Cllr. Andrew Montague. “Towards a National Planning Framework”.

Order: Noted

Noting recent reports of diplomatic developments by the Irish state toward full recognition of the state of Palestine, aware also that Ireland accorded the Palestinian delegation in Dublin diplomatic status in 2014, the same year that witnessed both Houses of the Oireachtas pass motions in support of Palestinian statehood, this city council will fly the flag of Palestine over City Hall for the month of May 2017 in support of the above diplomatic moves and as a gesture of our solidarity with the people of Palestine living under occupation in the West Bank and Gaza, with the Palestinian citizens of Israel denied basic democratic rights and with the over 7 million displaced Palestinians denied the right of return to their homeland.

It was proposed by Councillor J Lyons and seconded by Councillor M Flynn that “Noting recent reports of diplomatic developments by the Irish state toward full recognition of the state of Palestine, aware also that Ireland accorded the Palestinian delegation in Dublin diplomatic status in 2014, the same year that witnessed both Houses of the Oireachtas pass motions in support of Palestinian statehood, this city council will fly the flag of Palestine over City Hall for the month of May 2017 in support of the above diplomatic moves and as a gesture of our solidarity with the people of Palestine living under occupation in the West Bank and Gaza, with the Palestinian citizens of Israel denied basic democratic rights and with the over 7 million displaced Palestinians denied the right of return to their homeland.”

Order: The Members were supportive of the motion but were cautious of setting a precedent on the flying of flags on City hall. The motion was put and carried.

Order: The item was deferred until the May meeting

The Manager gave an update on the new voter registration system “Voter.ie”. She informed Members that due to the increase in gated apartment complexes, the traditional collection of information through door to door enquiries was no longer effective. The new system was based around online, self-registration using the individuals PPS number. The Franchise section had successfully used the back office aspect of the new system to create the current electoral register and it was envisaged that the frontend portal would come online in February 2018. Members of the public would have the option of using the new system or could continue to register to vote using the existing registration forms.

Order: Report noted.  

The Manager informed the Committee that the City Council had been investigating the introduction of the Public Reps system that was currently in use in the three other Dublin Local Authorities. The system would allow Councillors to lodge operational requests from constituents which would then be assigned to the relevant Department. The Department would then issue an authorised response within 15 days through the system, which could be provided to the constituent. Ollie Douglas gave the Members a brief demonstration of the front end of the system and explained how it would allow them to see the status of all their requests in one place. The system would also assist the senior management team in analysing how their Departments dealt with queries and ensure a more coherent and consistent approach.

The Manager also informed Members that the proposed EU Directive on data protection would be introduced in March 2018 and that this would have a profound impact on many aspects of the Councils business practices including the whole area of Council questions and representations on behalf of constituents.

Although the Members were positive towards the potential benefits of the new system in terms of efficiency and consistency they were cautious about its possible negative consequences. They were generally satisfied with the response from the Departments to their queries and were concerned that the new system would act as a barrier between the elected representatives and Council officials and impair the good working relationship that currently existed.   

Order: The Manager to bring a report to the next meeting outlining all the issues discussed including the resourcing, scope and impact on current procedures of the new system.

The Manager proposed that in situations where the Lord Mayor, in discussion with the Chief Executive, agrees that the City should be represented at an international event or there is a recommendation from the Department of Foreign Affairs that the City or Country be represented abroad, but the Lord Mayor and Deputy Lord Mayor are not available then the invitation should be extended to the Chairperson of the relevant SPC. The travel costs associated with attending the event would be borne by the operational Department of the SPC rather than by the individual Councillor. 

Order: Agreed

Order: Noted

Ø  The Members expressed their appreciation in regards the work done in facilitating Councillors who deputise for the Lord Mayor and in particular they welcomed the move to have a replica of the Clancy Chain made. The Manager envisaged that there would be two replicas which would allow the Deputy Lord Mayor to keep one on a permanent basis for the duration of his/her term and the second one could be couriered to the Councillor deputising for the Lord Mayor when necessary.  

            Order: Agreed.

Ø  The Manager proposed that the Housing Supply Report be included in the Chief Executive’s Monthly Report on the monthly Council agenda as it would assist members in understanding the information supplied in both reports.

Order: Agreed.

Ø  Councillor Lyons expressed concern that the reports received from Members following their attendance at a Conference were not as extensive as they could be.

Order: The Protocol Committee to monitor Conference reports submitted by Members to ensure they meet the required standard.

Ø  Councillor Flynn expressed concern regarding the Fire Restaurants use of the Mansion House brand in its advertising and commercial activities.

Order: The Manager to ask Declan Wallace to brief Members on the conditions of Fire Restaurants lease and the renewal of the lease which expires in 2019.

Order: Agreed.