‘Antiquated’ Mayo council chamber needs a facelift

MAYO County Council's chamber needs a makeover, both in terms of its sound system and layout, management have been told.

Councillor Michael Burke described the audio system as 'pathetic', saying it was better 30 years ago than what it is now.

'Antiquated' is how Councillor Ger Deere described it, and he also asked that ventilation in the room be looked at.

Councillor Jarlath Munnelly said the chamber wasn't a friendly space for people with hearing issues, and steps were also an impediment. The chamber needed a 'facelift' and to make it more usable.

Get rid of the different levels and put in desks that could be moved to accommodate events like civic receptions and other official engagements, he suggested, while individualised mics would help with the audio.

Councillor Damien Ryan asked that the architects section would prepare a report to bring the sound system and room up to standard, to it can be used for events other than meetings. The acoustics could be dealt with quickly.

The elevated bench where council management and the cathaoirleach sit was also flagged by Councillor Brendan Mulroy, who said they were gone past the stage of the bench looking down. It was set up like a courtroom.

His comment wasn't a sleight on the top bench, he said, but they should all be at the same level.

Chief executive Kevin Kelly said they would look at bringing back a proposal but, he warned, it would come with a price tag. This would not be cheap to do.

The debate arose during a presentation on a new in-house system for recording meetings, replacing the work of a contractor who provided the service for the last 20 years.

Councillor Ger Deere asked how long recordings were kept for with his colleague Councillor Michael Kilcoyne saying a proposal would be coming before them from the corporate policy group that they should be kept for six months.

Councillor Peter Flynn suggested they be kept a minimum of six years - the first year online on the cloud and then burned onto CD. They were important records to keep.

Public access was raised, with a concern highlighted by Councillor Christy Hyland that recordings could be distorted, as has happened with videos featuring the emergency services and gardaí.