Emergency meeting of city council comes to abrupt end following vote not to debate eviction ban motion

An emergency meeting of Cork City Council proposed by Sinn Féin councillors and Independent councillor Thomas Moloney came to an abrupt end this evening when councillors voted not to proceed with a debate on the eviction ban.

Late last month, leader of the Sinn Féin group on Cork City Council, Cllr Mick Nugent stated that the requirements had been met to activate a full emergency meeting of the council which was scheduled to take place today.

The meeting’s agenda stated that the council would consider matters from a special meeting of the council’s housing strategic policy committee (SPC) on March 29.

Mr Nugent subsequently posed an amendment to the agenda to put forward a motion calling on the council to write to the Minister for Housing requesting that he progress legislation to reinstate the ban immediately.

However, councillors voted not to debate the motion with 13 councillors against and 12 for a debate.

“We’re very disappointed that the meeting wasn’t allowed proceed, more disappointed obviously for the people of Cork that would have been tuning into a public meeting that was called to follow up on the housing SPC meeting last week,” Mr Nugent said, speaking to The Echo following the vote.

Mr Nugent said he believed the meeting should have proceeded to discuss matters from the housing SPC even after the motion relating to the eviction ban failed to proceed to a debate.

The Lord Mayor of Cork, Fine Gael Cllr Deirdre Forde insisted that the correct procedure was followed saying that she believed “political shenanigans” were at play.

Ms Forde said an “extensive report” was given in relation to all housing issues at the SPC and that all councillors were “free to ask any questions”.

She told The Echo that a request for an emergency meeting to discuss matters from the special SPC was submitted and that earlier today the motion relating to the eviction ban was submitted.

Ms Forde said that reports issued at the housing SPC will come before the next full council meeting on April 11 and that a debate will be facilitated at that time.

“At that meeting, Mick or any other councillor can raise any issue. 

“What I would say is how many meetings must we have to discuss what has already been discussed?” 

“I have never tried to stifle debate, indeed especially on such a critical issue but I always follow procure… nobody is being denied.

“I think that there’s more than discussing the issue. I think there's political shenanigans coming into play,” she continued.

Meanwhile, Mr Moloney said he was “shocked and appalled” by what unfolded at the meeting and that he believed procedure was not followed.

“The agenda item should have been discussed and debated first and the motion should have been put to the end of the agenda to be discussed and voted on as would be customary at council meeting,” he said.

He added that he felt “democracy was the loser in Cork City Council” this evening.

Independent councillor Mick Finn also expressed dismay at the decision not to discuss the motion.

“If and when the main Government parties reflect on electoral losses at both local and national level in the next two years, carry on such as the main parties trampling a legitimately-called meeting of city council on the eviction ban will be identified among the reasons.

“They have signed their electoral death warrants by not debating the lifting of the ban and the huge impact it is already having,” he said.

Green Party councillor Dan Boyle also said he believed a debate should have taken place.

“We think it’s important that these things are aired publicly and all an exercise like tonight does is make the next council meeting a prolonged meeting because there’ll be requests to look for a suspension of standing orders and motions will be put down that could have been discussed this evening.

“Given the gravity of the housing situation, I think there’s an onus on all of us who are public representatives to state publicly what our concerns are about housing policy.” 

However, Fianna Fáil councillor Seán Martin pointed out that debates on the eviction ban have already taken place at recent city council meetings.

Mr Martin insisted that progress is being made on housing and said he would question the effectiveness of the eviction ban as he believed the ban was “driving landlords out of the market”.

His party colleague, Terry Shannon echoed these sentiments saying that councillors would again have the opportunity to discuss matters from the housing SPC next Tuesday.

“The meeting of the housing SPC last week, that will come before council next Tuesday night and there’ll be a full debate.

“This notion that there’s no debate is nonsense. We’ve debated ad nauseam,” he said.