Mid Ulster councillors share unanimous support for hybrid meetings

What was initially intended as a hasty and temporary legislative move to limit the spread of Covid has now become part of life, and remote attendance at meetings is now a desirable option for many councillors.

At the latest monthly council meeting, Councillor Cathal Mallaghan, tabled a motion in which he expressed strong support for the principle of remote attendance at meetings.

The Sinn Féin representative for Cookstown DEA pointed out: “Hybrid / remote meetings contribute positively to making political office more accessible, particularly to women who disproportionately have caring responsibilities.”

Cllr Callaghan stated: “We all know how Covid sped up everyone’s technical abilities, and I know some councillors who would have demanded to have a paper agenda printed out for them, and who all of a sudden figured out how to use Zoom, or Webex – or the dreaded Microsoft Teams – so it really improved everybody’s IT skills, if that’s one silver lining from this crisis.

“And it was an initial ambition of this council whenever the Review of Public Administration (RPA) kicked in, that this would become a new way of of doing business, because we were going to be spread out across so many buildings.

“It didn’t necessarily happen so quickly at the start, but it certainly came in very quickly whenever Covid happened.

“They say you can’t be in two places at one time, but the Zoom meetings did give us the opportunity to do that, and it was such a a great advantage to officers who may have to attend a committee meeting and just had a very short presentation.

“Rather than having to sit for a long period and drive home late at night, they could give their presentation over Zoom or whatever, so it’s fantastic in that regard.

“It has its advantages, and particularly given consideration to people who have caring responsibilities, it really did give them an additional layer of flexibility that they could take advantage of.

“I wouldn’t use it an awful lot, I still believe the meetings we have in person are much more valuable, especially the conversations that we get to have before and after meetings, but it’s still an important part of the way that we now do our business.”

Councillor Malachy Quinn (SDLP, Torrent DEA) pointed out that being able to attend meetings remotely, as a dad with a young family, was a game changer.

“I support the motion. I don’t think it was universally welcomed by all members – certainly when it first came in – but I think as time has gone on everybody has seen the advantage of it,” he said.

“Particularly for myself, for my young family, it’s been a godsend.

“[I am thinking of] those that are expecting, those that have children. I know one councillor in particular – back in 2015/16, I think – who went on to have twins, and that was one of the reasons that she gave for stepping down from her role, but with hybrid meetings there’s an opportunity going forward for people.

“They won’t have to give up their council role because they’re having children and they could be able to continue on. I think that’s one of the big advantages of it.”

Councillor Dan Kerr (Independent, Torrent DEA) felt that the new format for meetings, with IT technology allowing flexibility, reflected changing times,

“I fully support the motion. The legislation was introduced during the 2019 Covid pandemic, which changed a lot of things and the way people work. Even seeing job interviews, to try to entice people for employment, working from home is an incentive, so I think it’s time the council moves with modern-day technology.

“It’s a great tool for people with young families not to have to attend meetings, it drives down the cost of childcare also, with people being able to stay at home and looking after their children and work.

“It’s also reducing the carbon footprint, which is one of the initiatives the council’s trying to introduce, along with other green ideas.”

Councillor Wesley Brown (DUP, Magherafelt DEA) was supportive of the new legislation, however he felt that the matter should be discussed further.

“We welcome the letter that has come from the minister and we’ll support the motion as well,” he said. “We think that there needs to be a conversation around what needs to change. Sometimes it’s good to have that face-to-face interaction with other councillors in the chamber, when it comes to motions and what’s being discussed, and you might lose that if we went totally hybrid.

“But there are circumstances where conversations need to be had. There’s people with young families, there’s people who may have health conditions that can’t be physically in the chamber, where the hybrid option gives them that.

“I’m happy to propose that we bring it back to Policy & Resources Committee and have that conversation across all parties, to see what we need to be changing, and maybe not make it a carte blanche thing.”

Councillor Trevor Wilson (UUP, Cookstown DEA) felt that the wording of the motion should be changed slightly,

“The only amendment I was going to [suggest] is In the first paragraph, where it says ‘particularly to women who have disproportionately [caring responsibilities].

“I would add into that ‘particularly people with disabilities’, and then the ‘women’ bit put into that. I think that that’s an issue. I’m happy to support the motion.”

Concluding on a humorous note, chair of Mid Ulster District Council, Councillor Dominic Molloy (Sinn Féin, Dungannon DEA) said: “It has moved on in the last four years, the technology. We’ve all had to get the grips with it, sitting at home with the pyjama bottoms on, and the shirt and tie on top. I’ve seen a few mistakes”.

The mood was very different at a Policy & Resources Committee held on March 7, as the council had just received correspondence from DfC Minister, Gordon Lyons, in which local authorities were asked to revert to in-person meetings only – Coronavirus laws on remote/hybrid meetings having come to an end on March 6.

The letter had come as quite a shock as there was still some uncertainty, when that meeting was held, over whether permanent legislation to allow remote attendance would be introduced.

The views expressed at the time are indicative of the strength of feelings on this issue.

Councillor Nuala McLernon (Sinn Féin, Torrent DEA) commented at the time: “Having [hybrid] provision available makes political life more accessible to councillors and to staff and to those who have other demands on their life such as caring responsibilities, parenting, university, work commitments, disability and illness, to list but a few.

“Tomorrow is International Women’s Day and we all identify the importance of making political office more accessible to women.”

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Poignantly, Councillor Frances Burton (DUP, Clogher Valley DEA) mentioned health issues she had recently experienced, and she explained that being able to attend meetings remotely had been a tremendous help.

“As you will know I have had a few months off because of illness, and I have to say that it was a great help during that time,” she said.

“I’m sure, like every other councillor around this room, there are times when you have to have other engagements in the day, and it saves you running away to be in person at a meeting, but you can still take part.

“During my three or four months, when I was confined out of meetings, I think I lost only one committee during that time, and it was actually the night when I had my operation.”