The Mayor has confirmed that he has submitted a motion seeking the formal recording of Full Council meetings. The motion will be seconded by Cllr Elisa O’Donovan.
The motion, which will be brought before the next meeting of the Full Council, proposes that all live-streamed Full Council meetings be recorded in full and that those recordings be published on the Council’s website within two working days.
To ensure the proposal does not impact frontline or essential services in 2026, Cllr O’Donovan has committed to allocating a portion of her General Municipal Allocation (GMA) towards the cost of implementation. Other Councillors will have the option of contributing from their own GMA allocations. Any remaining shortfall will be met from the Mayoral Fund, in line with the commitment in the Mayoral Programme to continue to advocate for the recording and public transmission of local council meetings.
The proposal aims to bring resolution to an issue that has been debated repeatedly over a number of years but has yet to secure majority approval.
“This is not a new idea,” the Mayor said. “Some members have pushed for this for a long period, but it has never been accepted here in Limerick. We have the technology, we know the cost is not at the level previously suggested, and importantly, I am proposing a funding pathway that protects core services in any event. There is no remaining practical barrier, and I believe the time has come for fuller visibility on council affairs.”
The Mayor made clear that cost should no longer be cited as an obstacle, stating that the proposal can be delivered without affecting core services or frontline delivery in 2026.
The Mayor added:
“Open debate is fundamental to democracy. Proceedings of Dáil Éireann, Seanad Éireann and Oireachtas committees are recorded and made available to the public as a matter of course. Local government should meet that same standard. If we expect public trust, we must ensure that our deliberations are visible and accessible.”
Under the proposal, written minutes will continue to serve as the formal statutory record in accordance with existing legislation. The recordings would supplement that record by providing the public with direct access to the full proceedings, hosted on the Council’s official website without unnecessary barriers.
Addressing concerns previously raised about the potential misuse of video excerpts, the Mayor stated that the publication of full, unedited recordings is the strongest safeguard against misrepresentation.
