COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

 

MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

Monday, May 11, 2020

MOTION NO.

MOTION: Councillor V. Casserly

MAYOR’S BUSINESS - RESOLUTION

REPORT:

Due to social distancing restrictions County Hall cannot facilitate a full Council meeting in a one room location. Essentially there are two options open to the Council to consider in determining how it will conduct the Council meetings:

Option 1:

A full Council meeting in County Hall with 20 members in the Chamber and 20 members in another room in the building. This is similar to the proposal that was recommended by the executive to the CPG in April, and has been further refined to identify the HR Training Room as the most suitable room to use alongside the chamber. The HR Training Room and adjacent Conference Room can be opened out to comfortably accommodate 20 councillors with social distancing in place and has the advantage of having two Smartboards within the room that can display the Council agenda as seen in the Council chamber. The use of Microsoft Teams software together with headsets will mean all 40 councillors in both rooms, the Chamber and the Training Room, can hear and engage equally in the proceedings, under the chairmanship of the Mayor. It is important to stress that while the meeting would be availing of online meeting technology, it would not be considered a remote meeting it would be a physical meeting in County Hall with all forty members present across two rooms in the one venue.

A variation of this option would be to host the meeting in the Chamber, the gallery within the chamber, and the ante-room. This will also accommodate the 40 members and is recommended as the most suitable option for the Council’s Annual Meeting.

Option 1 is the recommended option by the executive as it means Council business can continue to be conducted within the head office of County Hall and is the most sustainable option for the duration of the social distancing restrictions being in place over an extended period.  

Option 2:

If the resolution is passed, Corporate Services and Facilities Management have carried out an initial examination of the options available which could accommodate the Council meeting in one room. Various facilities have been considered, i.e. the Tallaght Leisure Centre, the Adamstown Community Centre and the National Basketball Arena. Tallaght Stadium could not be considered as was currently in use as a Covid19 Test Centre, the Civic Theatre and Aras Chronain were deemed to be too small.

All of these external venues would require the hiring of chairs and tables at a minimum, and possibly audio equipment.

The size of the National Basketball Arena allows the meeting layout to mirror the Council Chamber adhering to social distancing regarding both seating and movement around the room. Tallaght Leisure Centre and Adamstown Community Centre can facilitate a theatre setting with reduced movement. The drawings for the two types of layout are attached to this report.

The National Basketball Arena have indicated they would arrange the hire of equipment needed, setting up the venue and included in the hire charge provision for electrical points for all laptops. Cleaning staff would also be on duty for the duration of the meeting to sanitise any common areas.

The following is a breakdown of costs: 

Renting of the National Basketball Arena	€1,900.00
Renting of Tallaght Leisure Centre	€720.00
The following costs were received for the National Basketball Arena only:
Tables & Chairs	€440.00
Tea, Coffee & biscuits (€1 pp)	€60.00
PA System (4 x podium mics & 4 x table top mics)	€2,521.00
PA System (43 x table top mics)	€3,874.50
Security	€200.00

If the PA system is required it will be necessary to hire the venue for 2 days in order to set up the room and the audio equipment. The National Basketball Arena have indicated they will not charge for the room set up time. The €1,900 cost for their venue hire is per day.