By Suzanne Pender

WILL THE third time be a charm? Carlow councillors Adrienne Wallace and William Paton certainly hope so, as they have, for the third time, tabled a motion ahead of today’s meeting of Carlow County Council calling for the online streaming of council meetings. They say local authorities need to move with the times and increase transparency and accessibility to local government.

“A lot of decisions are made in council meetings that affect people’s lives and the areas that they live in; however, it is often hard to find out exactly what’s been said and how elected reps are voting,” said cllr Wallace.

“If someone wants to attend a council meeting, they would need to take time off in the middle of the day, a luxury many workers cannot afford. The minutes for council meetings can also sometimes take months to be uploaded and these don’t even include a full transcript. In April alone there were more than 24,000 visits to Carlow County Council’s website, which shows people want to know what is happening in their area,” she said.

Cllr Wallace said it is time Carlow council moved with the times and welcomed modern technology to meet the principles of participation, trust, accountability and transparency.

“There is nothing holding back this move, except perhaps the political will from those who want to continue to make decisions behind closed doors,” said cllr Wallace.