Morris unhappy over morning municipal meetings

The tradition of holding meetings just in the morning time in the Nenagh Municipal District should be abolished, Nenagh Independent councillor Séamie Morris has stated.

He said that having council meetings at morning time puts pressure on councillors who have to take leave from their jobs.

The practice also turned working people off trying to enter politics.

Cllr Morris made his remarks at the agm of the newly elected Nenagh Municipal District authority, which met officially for the first time in the Civic Offices in the town on Thursday last.

Cllr Morris said that as someone who worked full-time, he would appreciate if some of the district council meetings were held in the afternoon instead of the morning. Traditionally, the monthly district meetings start at 10am.

Cllr Morris said that during the final year term of the last municipal district, he attended up to 40 meetings - most of which were scheduled to start in the morning time. The time off he needed to take from his job to attend the meetings was “very hard for an employer to take”.

If the powers that be wanted to encourage new people to get into politics, meeting times would have to change as many who could contribute fruitfully to local government were being discouraged as they would be unable to get the time off work to attend day-time meetings.

TOLERANT EMPLOYER

Cllr Morris, who is employed as a full-time postman, said he had a very tolerant employer.

But other kinds of workers may not experience the same when trying to get time off to attend meetings.

He said that at least three in every ten meetings should be schedules outside morning time.

There were other municipal districts where this was already happening, “and it’s something we should do as well”.

Cathaoirleach Cllr Fiona Bonfield said she understood Cllr Morris’ point of view, but felt it was probably necessary to continue to have the monthly district meeting in Nenagh in the morning time in order to have council staff present.

She said some meetings outside the full monthly meetings could be considered for times in the afternoon.

Cllr Morris replied: “We are the elected representatives, and we are the ones who should be saying when the meetings are on.”

He pointed out that he was a former member of the now defunct Nenagh Town Council, which for decades held its monthly meetings after office work times in the evening and council staff attended.

“I’m not trying to start a row, but if we are going to encourage more people into politics…what is an employer going to say to an employee who takes time off work 30 to 40 times a year to attend council meetings? We should be a bit more flexible here.”

Cathaoirleach Bonfield said it was something that could be discussed with the council executive to see if anything could be done.

Cllr Louise Morgan Walsh, in her first contribution as a newly elected public representative, agreed with Cllr Morris that more flexibility was needed. She felt meetings that started in the afternoons might suit a lot more people already in politics, or those who might be thinking about getting into politics.

Cllr John Carroll echoed these sentiments, stating that some members of the last county council had lost their seats because their employers were not flexible about letting them get off work to attend local authority meetings.

“We have to work to facilitate new people who might want to get involved in politics,” he added.