First teleconference meeting of Tipperary County Council

History was made by Tipperary County Council when it recently convened its first meeting by teleconference to deal with urgent issues arising from the coronavirus pandemic.
In a measure aimed at preventing the threat of spreading the deadly virus at the specially convened meeting, and to abide by the restrictions introduced by the Government on physical distancing between people, the online meeting took place from five separate towns across Tipperary.
Large screens were put in place in seven separate meeting rooms where councillors, officials and members of the media gathered. 
Beamed onto each large screen were seven smaller separate screens linking those attending at the various local authhority's offices in Tipperary Town, Carrick-On-Suir, Thurles and two separate meeting rooms in both the civic offices in Nenagh and Clonmel. 
Due to rules on physical distancing, just half of the full membership of the 40-strong council was nominated to attend.
The council's own Standing Orders, which deem that meetings of the council cannot be conducted by video link, had to be amended to allow the special meeting to proceed. 
Proceedings were opened by the Cathaoirleach, Councillor Michael Murphy, who described the occasion as "historic" for the council. He thanked all the staff of the local authority for their "incredible and exemplary" levels of commitment in the way they were dealing with providing essential services during the current public health crisis and thanked everyone in Tipperary for abiding by the restrictions that have been put in place. 
Council CEO Joe MacGrath said he wanted to thank all the people across the county for the support they were showing to stem the spread of the virus. 
"I know the word unprecedented has been used. Yes, this is unprecedented and it is a very challenging time. It's a challenge for communities the length and breadth of this county and it is also a challenging time for the delivery of local services," said Mr MacGrath. 
Outlining measures being taken by the council, Mr MacGrath said its Covid-19 resonse team has been meeting on a daily basis and is authorised to take actions deemed necessary as the crisis unfolds.
The council's Crisis Management Team was also meeting on a regular basis - four times last week - and the council was working at regional level with the HSE in the Mid West and South East and with the National Emergency Response Team. 
"I have to say that the level of engagement and the level of urgency attaching to all those engagements is intense," said Mr MacGrath.
Staff were working hard to keep open all channels of communication with elected members and the public in general.
The council's corporate team and other departments were issuing regular updates and information on how to deal with the crisis and this information was being updated on an ongoing basis on the council's website. 
The council was providing updates on essential services across the county in relation to issues such as the community response hub and on planning matters.
Mr MacGrath said the local authority was making great use of social media platforms to get its message out to the public, and there was plenty of information on Covid-19 on the council website. 
He said municipal district council meetings were also now taking place by teleconferencing to reduce the risk of the spread of the disease. Some of these municipal meetings had already taken place and others would take place this week. 
Mr MacGrath said the issue of the council's cashflow was concerning. That is why he was seeking the approval of elected members for an extension of the council's overdraft facility, ensuring that financial commitments could be met going forward. 
"When the dust settles I will be in a position to advise the council on the overall impact of the crisis on our 2020 budget. At the moment I am working with my colleagues in other councils around the country to seek financial support from the Goverment for local authorities, because we are not alone in this situation in Tipperary. This is a situation common to all local authorities."
Mr MacGrath added: "For now the focus is on the care of the community and the effort to defeat this virus and to ensure the health of our staff and our councillors and the continuity of local services."
He thanked members of the local media who gathered at the venues in Clonmel and Nenagh to cover the meeting. "Your attendance here today is critical to report the outcome of the decisions being taken at a time when I am only too well aware that the local media is facing a very challenging time," said Mr MacGrath.
Elected members approved a recommendation by management to seek an extension of the local authority's end of year overdraft facility from €5.5 million to €25 million. 
Finance Officer Liam McCarthy said he hoped that such a level of financial resources would not be required, but he felt it would be wise to have such a facility in place given the scale of the challenge posed by the virus. 
In addition, councillors unanimously approved a loan facility of €3.6 million for the purposes of advancing mortgages under the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan Scheme. 
A €7 million loan for the rollout of 15 million new low energy public lights for towns and villages across the county was also approved by elected members.