Less of their own sweet voices

POLITICAL bodies often  have a few members who are not averse to the sound of their own voice, but elected representatives on Clare County Council now have less room for manoeuvre, following a decision made at this week’s meeting of the local authority.
Councillors are to be limited to one rather than two motions at meetings, at least for the next few months, after Councillor Pascal Fitzgerald forwarded a motion that the restriction be introduced in the interests of efficiency.
Twenty-two were in the chamber when a vote on the matter took place, with 16 voting in favour and six against. Almost as soon as the vote was taken, some on the losing side were looking for loopholes, asking whether or not they would use up their single motion if they put forward a question to the executive.
While there was little debate about the motion prior to the vote, speaking afterwards, Councillor Fitzgerald said it would improve efficiency.
“It will do a lot to get council business done more easily. Some motions take too long to go through and if every councillor put down two, there’d be an awful lot. This is only for a trial period of three months,” he said.
Green Party Councillor Brian Meaney described the move as a “retrograde step” and said there are other ways to improve efficiency.
“What will improve efficiency is full enforcement of standing orders and avoiding repetitious comments that are more or less the same as what the previous speaker said.”
Councillor Meaney added that councillors have an important role in overseeing and questioning the actions of the council and that this function will now be limited.