A MOTION THAT called for an end to the practice of saying a prayer at the beginning of Cork City Council meetings and the removal of a crucifix from the Council chamber has been “referred to a committee without debate”.

Newly elected Social Democrats Councillor Pádraig Rice tabled the motion last night, which also called on the Council to extend an invitation to the leaders of all faiths in Cork City whenever religious leaders are invited to Council meetings.

Speaking to The Journal yesterday, Rice said that while there is a “time and a place for religious worship, I don’t think it is at Cork City Council meetings”.

“This is a democracy, not a theocracy,” he added, and noted that voters who elected councillors “come from all faiths and none”.

“Our city should be about inclusion and not exclusion,” said Rice, “we need to create a modern, pluralist republic of equals with a clear separation of church and state,” said Rice.

“With the prayer and the crucifix, it still feels like 1930s Ireland in there,” added Rice of the Council Chamber.

Rice has since told The Journal that this motion, “along with other important social motions including one on combating gender and sexual violence, got referred to a committee without debate”.

My motion, along with other important social motions, including one on combating gender and sexual violence, got referred to a committee without debate.

That committee will meet in September to consider a report from the Executive.

It will then come back to the Council for…

— Pádraig Rice (@PadraigRice) July 9, 2024

The Social Democrats councillor said the committee in question is the Corporate Policy Group, which is made up of the Chairs of various other committees and the Lord Mayor.

Rice explained that the Chairpersons are from the controlling group made up of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, Labour, and the Green Party.

“The chief executive and their staff attend and prepare reports and it can be thought of like the cabinet of the Council,” said Rice.

He said the committee will meet in September to consider a report from the Executive and that the motion will come back before the Council for debate later in the year.

“I intend to pursue this issue until it’s given a full and frank debate and due consideration,” said Rice.

Rice was last month elected as a councillor in the Cork City South Central constituency and noted that last night’s meeting was his first full meeting.

He said 79 other motions “didn’t make it to the floor”, and that councillors “ended up discussing things we had no control over, like Irish Water”.

Rice added that he has previously raised concerns about the “inefficiency of the Council systems”.

Last month, he called for the Council to be “dragged into the 21^st century” after a four-hour long meeting to appoint councillors to internal committees and external boards.

Prior to last night’s meeting, Ken O’Flynn, a councillor in the Cork City North-East constituency, vowed that he would “stand firm against these misguided attempts to erase our traditions”.

O’Flynn, who recently joined Independent Ireland, said the motion was “divisive” and added that the “argument of the separation of Church and State has long been settled”.

“It is clear that the Church does not interfere with the day-to-day operations of Cork City Council,” said O’Flynn, who added that Rice should “focus on meaningful initiatives that address the needs of our citizens”.

However, Rice said there are “multiple issues to work on simultaneously” and pointed to housing as a “huge priority”.

Elsewhere, Cork County and Aontú councillor Becky Kealy described Rice’s motion as “silly”.

She said that no one raised this issue on Aontú canvasses in the run-up to last month’s local elections and that “there are very few people outraged over the presence of a crucifix in the council chamber”.

While Kealy said Aontú believes people of all faiths and none should be represented by their councillors, she remarked that the 2022 Census showed that around 76% of the population is Christian.

She accused Rice of seeking to “exclude” Christians and described his motion as a “non-issue” and that councillors “should focus on real issues”.

“The Social Democrats remain wedded to their ideology and seem to think that the presence of a crucifix and a prayer in a council chamber is the priority issue which warrants a full council meeting motion of its own,” said Kealy.