Cork City Council Mayoral election - live updates

Sinn Féin in Cork have called for a deferral of tonight’s mayoral election and asked all concerned for a "weekend of reflection".

Fears had been mounting all day that the agreement, reached last night between Fianna Fáil, Sinn Féin, Fine Gael and a number of independents, which would have seen Fianna Fáil Cllr Mary Shields elected Lord Mayor later, was in danger.

Tonight’s council meeting is due to start at 7pm and live updates from the meeting can be followed here.

Sinn Féin was criticised earlier for agreeing to the power-sharing deal — a version of the so-called D’Hondt system — which would have seen the mayoral chain and various committee chairmanships rotate between the four political blocks over the next five years.

Crucially, the arrangement, which did not include any commitment by the parties to vote for the city’s budget in December, would have seen Sinn Féin holding the mayoral chain in 2016.

The Anti Austerity Alliance lead criticism of the deal from early morning.

AAA Cllr Mick Barry said: “People voted in their droves for SF, Independents and the AAA on May 23. This was a vote against austerity and for real change.

"Many people who voted for change will be disgusted that a politician from an austerity and Pact party is to be voted in as Lord Mayor tonight in an arrangement agreed by Sinn Féin.

"We are calling on SF and Independents to walk away from the deal.

“Instead, we call on SF as the largest party benefitting from the anti austerity vote to declare support for building an anti austerity majority at City Hall.”

Independent Cllr Kieran McCarthy also said he would not support the arrangement.

“It’s too unstable when it comes to even debating and agreeing a budget and many of my constituents have asked me not to support Sinn Féin party policy,” he said.

Workers’ Party Councillor Ted Tynan said that under no circumstances would he support any nominee of a pro-austerity party for the position of Lord Mayor of Cork.

“I am most disappointed that Sinn Féin, having being elected on an anti-cuts platform, is to re-build the mayoral pact which was torn asunder by the voters of this city three weeks ago,” he said earlier.

It does not matter whether it is elected under the D’Hondt system or any other, this is a reincarnation of the old pact, with Sinn Féin and a few independents taking the place of the Labour Party. I wish to make it absolutely clear that the Workers’ Party is not part of the Independent group and will oppose tonight’s nomination of the pact’s candidate."