Councillor’s call unveils need for careful debate

IT is not clear why Cork city councillor Joe O’Callaghan has chosen to lob a political grenade into the public domain at this point.

In calling for a ban on burkas — or full face veils — the Fine Gael councillor has opened up a pandora’s box.

He has two objections to burkas. First, they are an “affront to women” and are incompatible with modern society and, second, on security grounds.