Council may control access to meetings

New controls on access to the public gallery in Cork’s City Hall are on the cards after protesters disrupted a council meeting.

Lord Mayor John Buttimer said a Dáil-style sign-in system will be among the options discussed by party whips and city officials over the coming days.

“I will not countenance our meetings and the business of the city being bullied, intimidated or stopped,” he said. “Our wish would be to have a chamber that’s as open and transparent as possible but people who attend must respect the right of council to proceed with its business.”