Agenda and minutes

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Items
No. Item

1.

Minutes of the meeting held on 27th January and matters arising. pdf icon PDF 2 MB

Minutes:

Cllr. Costello requested that Richard Shakespeare contact him directly in relation to the situation when his request for a Planning Information Meeting was refused but was subsequently granted when another Councillor in the Central Area made the same request. The Manager agreed to contact Cllr. Costello directly on the matter.

 

Order: Minutes agreed.

2.

Format of meetings post Covid 19 Restrictions

Minutes:

Order: It was agreed that the Protocol Committee would continue on a remote basis and that the Monthly Council meeting would continue in a hybrid format going forward.

 

The Manager agreed to write to Group Leaders to request that they discuss the format of meetings with their party colleagues. The issue would be revisited at the next meeting of the Protocol Committee.

3.

Planning Matters

3a)

Planning Information Meetings pdf icon PDF 247 KB

Minutes:

The Members thanked Richard Shakespeare for the revised policy on the Planning Information Meetings and were broadly supportive of the changes. They requested greater clarity on the role of the Planner at PIM  meetings, flexibility on the number of representatives that a Councillor good bring to a meeting and also the acknowledgement that there would be exceptional circumstances which would be judged on a case by case basis. The Manager was happy to revise the policy to reflect these concerns.

 

Order: It was agreed that following consultation with the Chair, the Manager would circulate a revised policy addressing the issues raised. The policy would be implemented and then reviewed in September to assess how it is functioning.    

 

3b)

Large-scale Residential Developments (LRD's) - (Circulated to Councillors on 3rd February) pdf icon PDF 353 KB

Minutes:

Mary Conway gave an overview of the new Large scale Residential Developments system which has been introduced to replace the SHD system. It will re-establish Dublin City Council as the primary authority when dealing with large scale planning applications. The planning applications will be available to view on the existing system and on the applicants website. Presentations on LRD’s will be made at the Area Committee meetings. However, there is no provision in the legislation to include comments or views of the Members made at such presentations to be included on the planning file. Formal submissions have to be made through the official process.

 

Order: Report Noted.

4.

Report on Security Issue with Councillor iPads pdf icon PDF 380 KB

Minutes:

The Manager confirmed that the security issue with the iPads had been quickly identified and resolved and thanked the Members for their co-operation. The Members accepted the report and commended the team in Chief Executives in dealing with the matter in such a timely manner.

 

It was agreed that the Manager would request a report from the Head of IS on general IT security measures in the organisation for a future meeting of Protocol.

 

Order: Report Noted.

5.

IT Sub-Committee Update - Cllr. Michael Pidgeon pdf icon PDF 2 MB

Minutes:

Cllr. Michael Pidgeon informed Members that a meeting of the IT Sub-Committee was held on 18th February. They received a very informative presentation from the Transformation Unit on Dublin City Council’s Draft Digital Strategy, the establishment of the Digital Services Unit and the Citizen Hub Platform. The presentation is part of the minutes if Members wished to access it. Cllr. Pidgeon also informed Members that work on the Councillor representation system would begin shortly.

 

Order: Noted.

 

6.

Unveiling of Richard O'Carroll Portrait

Minutes:

The Manager informed Members that it was proposed to hold an unveiling ceremony for the Richard O’Carroll photographic portrait on 5th May 2022, which would be the anniversary of Richard O’Carroll’s death. The portrait would be unveiled by the Lord Mayor and members of Richard O’Carroll’s family and members of the Protocol Committee and the Commemorations & Naming Committee would be invited to the event. The event will take place between 6pm – 7pm in City hall.

 

Order: Agreed.  

7.

Approval for Councillor Attendance at the Irish Planning Institute Annual Conference on 7th & 8th April 2022

Minutes:

Order: Agreed.

8.

Manager's Report

Minutes:

The Manager reported that the upgrade to Councillor facilities on the lower ground floor of City Hall were ongoing and would be due for completion within 3 to 4 weeks. However, there was also a requirement for the installation of a new Mechanical and Electrical system to service these facilities which would be installed later in the year with minimal disruption.

 

It was agreed that the Fianna Fail Party Room would be used as a prototype for the upgrade of the Party Rooms on the 1st and 2nd Floors of City Hall. Cllr. Donna Cooney requested that the security code locks on the party rooms be upgraded as part of this process as well as the security alarms on the windows.

 

The Chief Executive’s Office in conjunction with City Architects were beginning the process of compiling a 10 year maintenance programme for City Hall.

 

There is currently an issue with the heating on the upper floor of City Hall which hopefully will be resolved within a couple of weeks. Temporary heaters have been provided in the interim.

 

There was two requests to illuminate City Hall in April in support of Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Awareness Day on April 19th and World Autism Day on 2nd April. However, the Protocol Committee had already agreed to illuminate City Hall on 23rd April in support of Donor Awareness Day. The Lord Mayor confirmed that the Mansion House would light up in support of both causes.

 

Order Noted.

9.

A.O.B.

Minutes:

The Manager confirmed that Members could now hold meetings in City Hall following the lifting of Covid 19 restrictions.

 

Order Noted.

10.

Proposed Date of next meeting; 24th March 2022

Minutes:

Order: The date of the next meeting was agreed for 24th March 2022.