Technology has become more and more important these days and that’s true for politicians too. Local T.D. Emer Higgins has been hosting her public meetings and clinics online, during the lockdown.
“Like so many others I’m working from home most of the time now. There’s a large planning application in Palmerstown been lodged and I knew it was likely to be controversial, so I wanted to make sure that people were aware of it so that they had the opportunity to make a submission. I joined forces with Cllr. Alan Hayes to hold an online public meeting on the issue and was really surprised by how many people logged on. It showed an appetite for information, so I decided, once the five phased plan to re-open Ireland was announced, to host a live questions and answers session on it,” explained Higgins, the Lucan T.D.
“Before I was elected to the Dáil, I worked for a multinational corporation so virtual meetings aren’t new to me, but hosting a questions and answers clinic live on air definitely was. I was amazed, though, at how many people logged in live and how many others watched the recording I posted later that day. It proved a great way of being able to engage with constituents, who are online, and answer their questions in relation to the lifting of restrictions. I’ll definitely be doing more and more online engagements while social distancing continues, but I have to say I am looking forward to getting back in front of people in real life,” concluded Higgins.
