Council voting process labelled ‘inefficient’ following four-hour meeting

A NEWLY elected Cork city councillor has said the council “must be dragged into the 21st Century” following a four-hour meeting voting to appoint councillors to various internal committees and external boards.

Social Democrats councillor Pádraig Rice, who earlier this month became the party’s first councillor to be elected to Cork City Council, said ways to expedite the voting process at council meetings must be explored.

Mr Rice explained the lengthy process in appointing councillors to the different boards and committees and said a more efficient solution must be established.

“For these appointments Cork City Council uses a roll call voting system where every councillor has to verbally declare their vote, one after another. The 31 votes are written down and then counted.

“This is repeated again and again and again… It’s so inefficient. It’s also a waste of councillor’s and council staff’s time.

“The council gave each councillor an iPad for official business. Surely there’s a technological solution we can use? Or voting buttons?

“If councillors are anti-technology why not use raised hands instead?” he said in a post on X, formerly Twitter. After two hours, I intervened and called for reform. The Lord Mayor said the rules will be reviewed. I’m going to keep pushing for change. The council must be dragged into the 21st Century.”

Speaking to The Echo following the meeting, Mr Rice said if the voting process had been more streamlined, councillors could have spent time at Monday’s meeting discussing issues facing the city. He said while the current council chamber was established in the 1930s, councillors “don’t have to vote like it’s the 1930s”.

“There are other ways and better ways of doing it and there’s lots of things I’d like to see reformed and improved,” he said.

Labour councillor Peter Horgan said he agreed with Mr Rice.

“If there’s a way to do the voting quicker, then I’m sure the staff would like it and I’m sure it would speed up meetings where there are a lot of votes happening. And you can still have the mechanism for a roll call vote.”

A spokesperson for council said: “Cork City Council’s Standing Orders for the regulation of the business of the council and of the committees thereof are in the process of being reviewed. Any associated proposals which may change how council business is conducted will be discussed and approved by council.”