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NEW FORMAT FOR MINUTES

Submission by Cllr. Michael Merrigan

In response to the many queries and concerns raised over the presentation of the Minutes of the

Council and Area Committee Meetings in a redacted or reformatted manner, I proffer the

following observations and suggestions.

1. Proposed Scheme

The rationale for the proposed scheme is set forth as follows:

The format of the Minutes was changed so that a shortened version of the Minutes with

links to pdf versions of all associated reports would be more reader friendly in that it would

be easier to see the decision on each issue; be more concise; and be easier to navigate for

both those familiar and unfamiliar with the workings of the County Council.

In addition, it was stated that the new format saved staff time in the preparation of the

Minutes by removing the requirement to integrate several pdf documents into a single pdf

document and allowing such to be attached or linked electronically to the heading of each

section, motion or question.

The Minutes, it is proposed, would then be made available via eCouncillor in both a

publicly accessible platform and in one accessible only to the Elected Members.

2. Previous Scheme

The previous scheme provided the Minutes of each of the meetings in a single document

which included the full texts of each report, motion or question and the replies thereto. This

document was prepared as a Word Document and then converted into pdf format for

circulation and uploading to the Council’s website for public access. It was also made

available via eCouncillor.

3. Legislative Framework

The legislative framework for the preparation of the Minutes of the Council or Area

Committee meetings is set forth in Schedule 10 of the Local Government Act, 2001 as

follows:

Schedule 10 – Local Government Act, 2001

14. Minutes.

14.—(1) Minutes of the proceedings of a meeting of a local authority shall be drawn up

by the meetings administrator.

(2) The minutes shall include— (a) the date, time and place of the meeting, (b) the

names of the members present at the meeting, (c) a list of the senior employees of the

local authority present at the meeting, (d) reference to any report submitted to the

members at the meeting, (e) where there is a roll call vote, the number and names of

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members voting for and against the motion and of those abstaining, (f) particulars of all

resolutions passed at the meeting, and (g) such other matters considered appropriate.

(3) A copy of the minutes of a meeting shall be sent or given by the meetings

administrator to each member of the local authority.

(4) Minutes of a meeting shall be submitted for confirmation as an accurate record at

the next following ordinary meeting, where practicable, or where not, at the next

following meeting and recorded in the minutes of that meeting.

(5) When confirmed, with or without amendment, the minutes of a meeting shall be

signed by the person chairing the meeting they were submitted to for confirmation and

any minutes claiming to be so signed shall be received in evidence without proof.

(6) Until the contrary is proved, every meeting in respect of the proceedings of which

minutes have been confirmed shall be deemed to have been duly convened and held

and all the members at the meeting shall be deemed to be duly qualified.

(7) A copy of the minutes of a meeting when confirmed in accordance with

subparagraph (5) shall be open to inspection at the principal offices of the local

authority and any person may inspect and make a copy of, or abstract from, the minutes

during the usual office hours of the authority.

(8) A copy of the minutes shall be provided to any person applying for them on payment

of such reasonable sum, if any, being a sum not exceeding the reasonable cost of

supplying the copy, as may be fixed by the local authority.

(9) Each local authority shall make proper arrangements for the safe keeping of the

minutes of the authority.

This section has not, to my knowledge, been amended in any way by subsequent Acts of

the Oireachtas and in particular by the Local Government Reform Act, 2014, as implied by

paragraph two of the report prepared on the Proposed Scheme. Therefore, Schedule 10,

section 14, of the Local Government Act, 2001 continues in force without amendment.

4. Custom and Practice

The purpose, preparation, presentation, adoption and legal status of the Minutes of

Meetings remains unchanged by the recent “reforms” to local government in Ireland and,

indeed, the custom and practice that has evolved in this area over the past century or so has

altered little since the enactment of the Local Government (Ireland) Act, 1898.

Therefore, Minutes are considered to be prima facie evidence of the proceedings of the

Council Meetings and, as such, they are usually taken as accurate in legal proceedings until

the contrary, for whatever reason, is proved.

Given the litigious nature of Irish society and the adversarial political framework, in which,

that society conducts and executes its public business, it is essential that the Minutes of the

Council Meetings contain a full and accurate account of all business transacted at these

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meetings. This must include, as per Schedule 10, section 14 (2) above, the text of all

Motions adopted and the full texts of Members’ Questions and the replies thereto.

It is essential that the Minutes of the Council Meetings be impartial and above suspicion

and, therefore, the procedures underpinning their preparation, presentation and publication

should be such so as to render the Minutes, once adopted by the Elected Members and duly

signed by the Cathaoirleach or Chairperson, to be preserved and published in an inalterable

form and, in accordance with Schedule 10, section 14 (7) above, be made available for

inspection by the public.

Understanding that the provision for public access to the Minutes of Council Meetings is

now generally, though not exclusively, via the Council’s website, the need for the

preparation, presentation and publication of an indisputably fixed and inalterable document

(in electronic format) is of paramount importance for the maintenance of public confidence

in the accuracy and veracity of the Minutes of Council Meetings.

Access to the Minutes of Council Meetings via the Internet should provide for the

downloading or printing of a copy of the Minutes in its totality as a single document as it

is clear that such would the public understanding of the recording of Minutes in accordance

with custom and practice.

The provision of Minutes, whereby access to integral parts thereof, is only achieved through

the provision of ‘running appendices’ in the form of attached pdf documents or even less

stable web links, fails utterly to provide the essential ingredient of an inalterable or ‘final

document’. The perception that such a system could possibly facilitate a situation, for

whatever reason, where appendices can be changed, altered or deleted in a manner that is

not possible with the standard format should be a matter of considerable concern. The latter

point could lessen the evidential quality of the Minutes of the Meetings and leave such open

to dispute whether in the Chamber or elsewhere.

Therefore, I strongly contend that the proposed scheme for the preparation, presentation

and adoption of the Minutes of Council Meetings does not meet the requirements of

Schedule 10 of the Local Government Act, 2001 and furthermore, it departs considerably

from custom and practice in the production of Minutes of Meetings as understood by the

public. The latter point is unacceptable in the conduct of public business.

5. Suggested Methodology

The proposed scheme appears to have three levels of production, Word Document, PDF

Document and HTML or Web Document. This contrasts with the previous scheme’s two

step approach of creating Word Documents and then collating such into a single PDF

Document.

Unless the staff concerned with the previous scheme have been ‘upskilled’ to complete the

process through the three steps mentioned above, the new system would appear to be more

onerous, time-consuming and labour intensive.

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As all documents are prepared initially in Word, it is not unreasonable to suggest that each

official, having completed their own document (Report or Reply to Question or Motion)

forwards such to a designated email in Word format for collation and conversation to a

single PDF Document for circulation to the Elected Members and presentation at the

Council or Area Committee Meeting.

The collated single PDF Document as the Draft Minutes should be presented in hardcopy

to the Council or Area Committee Meeting for adoption and signature. It is this collated

document as the approved Minutes of the Meeting that should be published as a single

readable, downloadable and printable document.

The use of web links in the answers to Questions or in the Reports provided for Motions

should be kept to a minimum and always cited with the proviso that such may be amended,

altered or deleted by the web provider and that the information so provided is accurate at

the time of the presentation of the Minutes and dated accordingly.

6. Conclusion

The preparation, presentation, adoption and publication of the Minutes of the Council and

of the Area Committee (and Strategic Policy Committees) meetings is a vitally important

aspect of the work of the Council and therefore, alterations to the process by which such

are produced should not be considered lightly or in any perceived haste demanded by the

exigencies of temporary reductions in staff numbers or pressures on available resources.

As mentioned above, given the litigious nature of Irish society, it is essential that the

proposed scheme does not expose the Council to potential legal difficulties occasioned by

a possibility of its inability to ensure that the record of proceedings at the meetings, as

presented, adopted and published, is in an inalterable and unitary document duly signed by

the Cathaoirleach or Chairperson.

Given the doubts that could arise regarding the accuracy, veracity and completeness of the

Minutes of the Council or Area Committee (and Strategic Policy Committee) meetings, the

proposed scheme should not proceed pending a full investigation of the matter by the O.P.

& P. Committee and the formulation by the Group Leaders of a framework for the

consideration of this matter by the Council as a Headed Item at a future meeting.

Cllr. Michael Merrigan

April 30th 2015