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The largest political party on Newry, Mourne and Down District Council, Sinn Féin, while not having the best ‘in-person’ attendance record at the Council Chamber in Downpatrick, has defended the need for a second 41-seater full council meeting chamber in the proposed new council offices behind Newry Cathedral.
Asked by Newry.ie as to why there was a need for a second such chamber, considering the Downpatrick venue is under-utilised, a Sinn Féin spokesperson said: “The Chamber in the [proposed] civic centre will not only serve as a forum for local government but also as a space for Civic events, meetings for government bodies north and south and a key point in the Eastern Economic corridor between Belfast and Dublin.”
Our initial questions to the party back in June at first remained unanswered.
Newry.ie had highlighted that of the 11 monthly Full Council meetings in Downpatrick, from June 2, 2022, to April 4, 2023, there was a possible full attendance by the 41 councillors of 451. The attendance was 405 over the period, equating to 89.8%.
Of those 405 attendees over the 11 meetings, 258 were physically in the Chamber (63.7%) while 147 were dialled in via teams (36.6%).
The biggest attendance in person was 34 councillors at the June 2022 full Council meeting but that dropped to 13 for two meetings. At those two meetings, 22 and 15 councillors, respectfully, attended online via Teams.
During the same period (2/6/22-4/4/23), there were six Special Full Council meetings covering the passing of HM Queen Elizabeth II, NIHE, DfI Roads, Health Trusts, Credit Unions and NIE.
Of a total possible attendance of 246, 107 attended these meetings (43.5%).
Only 49 of 246 (19.92%) were in-person, those on Teams accounted for 58 of a possible 246 (23.58%) attendees.
Didn’t answer the question
So, if councillors were not using the Chamber in Downpatrick to its full capacity, with many choosing Teams to attend meetings, did they really need a second full-sized Chamber in Newry and if they did, how could Sinn Féin justify spending ratepayers’ money on a second chamber if the first one was underutilised?
Eventually responding, a Sinn Féin spokesperson said: “Sinn Féin are committed to the Newry City centre regeneration project. A key part of this project will be the Newry Civic Centre.
“The Civic centre will function alongside the Downpatrick Civic Centre giving space for elected representatives from across the district to engage in political debate with space for both the public and the media to observe.
“It will also give a base for workers in the Newry area, given the recent acquisition of the old council offices by the Southern Trust for Daisy Hill.
“We want to see the civic centre used to its full potential and will press the council to deliver on this.”
The statement didn’t answer the question.
We understood the base for workers, that was obvious - although the proposed size of a building to cater for 287 people with many working remotely, is questionable as there appears to have been little consideration in the plans for the changing working environment since Covid.
However, how would Sinn Féin address the utilisation of a second 41-seater chamber consider the party’s in-person attendance record in Downpatrick chamber?
A half empty and half used Chamber?
In fairness, you can’t fault Sinn Féin’s overall meeting attendance. For the 11 Full Council meetings from June 6, 2022, to April 3, 2023, with 16 councillors, the party had a possible 176 total attendance. With 16 absences, attendance was 160 or 90.91%.
In saying that, attendance in-person in the Chamber was 87 out of 176 or 49.43% against all-parties in-person attendance of 63.7%.
Attendance via Teams was 73 or 41.48% against all-parties attendance via Teams of 36.6%.
The party had one councillor who didn’t appear in the Downpatrick Chamber at all, two who only attended the Chamber for one meeting each, and two who only attended four times each.
Newry.ie put their own attendance figures to Sinn Féin and asked if party councillors were not delivering in-person on the full potential of the Chamber in Downpatrick, how could it justify the need for a second full-sized 41-seat Chamber in Newry that will sit half empty and half used?
Would the only rationale for a second 41-seater be for appearances sake - there’s no evidence to show or support the Council’s need for a second full-size Chamber?
And again, we asked how could the party justify the spending of ratepayers’ money on a second chamber if the first one is underutilised?
Explaining the in-person attendance figures, a Sinn Féin spokesperson said: “Sinn Féin strives to have as many councillors present in person for council meetings but understands that members may not always be able to attend due to illness, schedule clashes or other reasons.
“We also embrace hybrid working, allowing councillors who work full-time to attend important council meetings rather than miss them.”
Justifying the need for a second 41-seat Chamber, multi-use was put forward as the reasoning: “The Chamber in the civic centre will not only serve as a forum for local government but also as a space for Civic events, meetings for government bodies north and south and a key point in the Eastern Economic corridor between Belfast and Dublin,” the spokesperson said.
