No live streaming of council meetings

Elected members of Cork County Council have firmly rejected a motion to introduce live public web streaming for council meetings.

If accepted, the motion would have allowed the public to easily watch full meetings of Cork County Council live, and to watch recordings of previous meetings.

As it stands, a member of the public can only view live meetings upon request and there is no way to watch previous meetings.

Live webcasting facilities are already in place in many local authorities around the country, including Dublin and Cork City Council.

However, the motion was defeated during Monday’s full council meeting by a resounding 40 votes to seven.

The motion had originally been brought forward by Aontú councillor Peter O’Donoghue in September 2025.

Commenting on Monday’s outcome, Cllr O’Donoghue said he is “bitterly disappointed” and feels the decision represents a “circling of the wagons” by those who want to shield the people of Cork from what happens at Cork County Council meetings.

He continued: “I wasn’t trying to reinvent the wheel here.

“This motion was brought before Cork County Council to help make Cork County Council meetings as open and as transparent as possible for the people of county Cork.”

He added: “As a councillor who believes in openness, honesty, and transparency, I will continue to try my very best to make Cork County Council as open and as transparent as possible going into the future. I have absolutely nothing to hide. I don’t run with the hare and hunt with the hound. What you see is what you get,” concluded the councillor.