Leixlip Town Councillors met representatives of Vilicom, a company advising the Office of Public Works (OPW) on telecommunications in private on Tuesday, 4 November.
Journalists and a member of the public arriving for the Council's monthly meeting
were surprised that representatives from Vilicom met the Town Council 'in committee'.
The Council had invited the OPW to send its experts to a meeting but instead of answering questions at the regular monthly open public meeting, the Council opted to meet the company at an 'in-committee' (private) protocol meeting being held prior to the normal monthly meeting.
The private meeting, chaired by Cllr. Paul Kelly, started around 6pm and ran way over scheduled time.
The public meeting was due to start at 7.30pm but it was delayed until 8.20pm for the private meeting to finish, during which time, the Leader understands, the Council and the Vilicom representatives discussed widespread public local concerns over the siting of the mobile phone technology on a mast at the new Leixlip Garda station near Ryevale Lawns.
Local residents have questioned why this meeting was held in private?.
It seems the decision to hold the meeting with Vilicom in private was taken by the Town Council but it said it was asked to keep it private.
On Tuesday, Cllr. Kelly said they asked the OPW to meet it and the latter opted to send its expert advisors, Vilicom. Cllr. Kelly told the Leader that Vilicom wanted the meeting with the elected councillors to be held in private.
But, OPW spokesperson, George Moir, said initially the OPW did not ask for the meeting to be held in private. "OPW did ask its consultants to brief the councillors as requested and that would have been our instructions to them. At no point was there any reference to whether or not it should be in a public arena. Our understanding was that the purpose was to provide further information to the councillors."
He said the Town Council, via the Town Clerk, asked for a meeting with the company but not the public over the mast. It appears Vilicom took a narrow view of that and the Council agreed.
The Town Clerk, Siobhan Barry, was on leave when the Leader tried to contact her early this week.
But she had earlier advised Mr. Moir that information requested by councillors would be supplied at the Town Council meetings which are held in public.
He said there was "no cloak and mystery" about it.
He also said the OPW did not have a problem with meeting a residents' association and Vilicom would meet, for example, Ryevale Residents' Association, if it so wished.
Mr.
