Agenda and minutes

Cllr. Anne Feeney was nominated by Cllr. M. Flynn and seconded by Cllr. N. O’Muiri. Cllr Dermot Lacey was nominated by Cllr. J. Costello and seconded by Cllr. D. Cooney.

Order: Following a vote Councillor Anne Feeney was elected as Chair of the Protocol Committee.

Cllr. Dermot Lacey was nominated by Cllr. J. Costello and second by Cllr. N. O’Muiri.

Order: Cllr. Dermot Lacey was elected Vice-Chair of the Protocol Committee.

·         Nominations were sought for the Sculpture Selection Committee for the O’Connell Plinth outside City Hall.

Order: Cllrs. Mannix Flynn and Donna Cooney were appointed to the Committee.

·         Members discussed the Moorhead Report. It was noted that the report undervalued the role of the elected members. It failed to acknowledge the responsibilities of Councillors in the planning process and their vital function in sustaining and promoting democracy at a local level. Analysis also showed that it would have a negative financial impact on Councillors from Dublin City. Cllr. Lacey informed members that the AILG was co-ordinating a response and was organising briefing sessions so that Councillors could understand the impact of the report’s recommendations. It was agreed that Councillors MacDonncha, Lacey and Feeney would liaise to establish a coherent response to the report and agree a process by which to bring their concerns to the attention of the Department.

·         The Manager reported that the Richard O’Carroll Room was in the process of being fitted-out with the capacity to host combined physical and remote meetings which should hopefully be in place by September. The capacity to host similar meetings in the Council Chamber would be addressed in the forthcoming webcasting tender process which was due to begin at the start 2021. The tender for the new CRM system was being progressed by the Transformation Unit and it was agreed that they would meet with IT sub-group in September to discuss requirements. Members emphasised the importance of all meetings of the City Council, including remote meetings, being open to the public via live broadcast/webcast. The Manager should investigate all options to ensure this happens in a timely fashion. Members also expressed dissatisfaction with the failure of some Area Committees to webcast meetings and also the time it was taking for the archived webcasts to become available on the Councils website.

Order: The Manager to follow up on the issues raised and report back to the Committee in September.    

Order: Request agreed.

·         The Manager reported that a meeting of the Newcomen Bank-City Hall sub-committee was scheduled for Tuesday 28^th July 2020 and that a report would follow to the Protocol Committee in September.

·         Members expressed their dissatisfaction with the current Strategic Housing Development process. In the first instance the additional meetings were creating an onerous workload for Councillors considering their other obligations as elected representatives. Also, there were concerns about the consistency of approach being adopted by the different Area Committees and the legality of meetings with respect to quorums which were being held remotely and in webinar format. In addition the Members had serious concerns regarding the SHD legislation itself and the way it undermined Local Government and the role of Councillors in the creation of the Development Plan.   

Order:  The Planning and Urban Form Strategic Policy Committee will be requested to co-ordinate a submission to Central Government which reflects the position of the Elected Members with respect to the SHD process.

The Manager will liaise with the City Planner and the Executive Managers for the North and South City to establish a consistent and sympathetic approach to Area SHD meetings.  

The Chief Executive would be asked to provide a report on the approach of An Board Pleanála in dealing with submissions from Dublin City Council on SHD’s.  

·         Members expressed concerns regarding the microphone system and lighting for Council meetings being held in the Round Room of the Mansion House. It was acknowledged that the cost of providing individual microphones for Councillors would be prohibitive. It was agreed to review the situation later in the year in light of developing public health guidelines.

·         Cllr. Mannix Flynn made a request for City Hall to re-open for a few hours on Saturday’s. This had previously been the case but the practice had been discontinued due to Covid-19.

Order: The Manager to investigate the feasibility of the request.

·         Cllr. Cat O’Driscoll commended Members on the way they conducted the adjourned meeting of Council on 13^th July to deal with motions on notice. Her suggestion that such meetings could be conducted on a quarterly basis was well received.  

Order: It was agreed to list the item for report to the September Protocol Committee meeting.

·         Cllr. Joe Costello enquired if there were any proposals to extend the length of time that meetings could continue.

Order: The Manager to follow-up with the H&S Section and report back to the next meeting.

·         Cllr. Donna Cooney led the Members of the Committee in extending their thanks to Cllr. Deirdre Heney for performing the role of Chair of the Protocol Committee with great competence over the past 12 months.

·         24^th September 2020

·         22^nd October 2020

·         26^th November 2020

·         17^th December 2020

·         21^st January 2021

·         18^th February 2021

·         25^th March 2021

·         29^th April 2021

·         3^rd June 2021

·         24^th June 2021

·         29^th July 2021

Order: The following dates were agreed.

•           24th September 2020

•           22nd October 2020

•           26th November 2020

•           17th December 2020

•           21st January 2021

•           18th February 2021

•           25th March 2021

•           29th April 2021

•           3rd June 2021

•           24th June 2021

•           29th July 2021