AAA bid to replace councillor deferred

The co-option of an Anti-Austerity Alliance (AAA) member onto Cork City Council was dramatically deferred last night after a challenge emerged.

City officials told councillors that they received correspondence from an “interested party” last Thursday querying the proposal to fill the casual vacancy which has arisen following the election to the Dáil of former AAA councillor Mick Barry.

The challenge, understood to be the first of its kind facing the city council, relates to Section 19 3 A and B of the Local Government Act 2001, and points out that the AAA deregistered as a political party last year.