Dublin City Council axes controversial practice after years of heated rows

At Monday's October Dublin City Council meeting, representatives agreed to get rid of a controversial debate practice which most agreed simply wasted time

Add to preferred sources News Stephen Holland Local Democracy Reporter 14:22, 07 Oct 2026 View Image Facade of the Dublin City Hall civic hall illuminated at night in Dublin

Dublin City Council has agreed to scrap its contentious ‘topical issue’ practice.

There are many ways in which councillors can bring up important issues in the chamber and spearhead lively debate or enact change. Questions to the Chief Executive or Area Manager, motions, and emergency motions all have their place and purpose and are widely accepted as part of the normal proceedings of Dublin ’s largest local authority.

But one system has consistently faced criticism and been blasted as an ineffective talking shop that leads to a lot of discussion without any actionable results. The use of topical issues has in recent times been associated with political grandstanding, as representatives accuse fellow councillors of wasting precious council time and holding up important agenda items.

A recent example was just last month, when Independent Cllr Gavin Pepper sought to raise concerns around fireworks and anti-social behaviour in the lead-up to Halloween , which led to a heated row in City Hall. While Cllr Pepper sought to put forward a topical issue on the need for youth diversion programmes, he saw major pushback from opposing councillors who accused him of weaponising the procedure when he could have put in a regular motion.

Ironically, a discussion around time wasting ended up taking up just as much of the meeting as the topical issue would have in the first place. A heated argument played out as Cllr Pepper called his deriders “champagne socialists” while Cllr John Lyons retorted that he was “making a nonsense of the chamber”.

Topical issues allow any councillor to anonymously put forward an item for debate and provided they can gain a two-thirds majority vote the issue can be discussed for no more than half an hour. Unlike a regular motion, the topical issue does not call for any specific action and can open the floor to a discussion that doesn't necessarily need to be informed by a particular point of view or political stance.

At Monday’s full October council meeting, topical issues once against took centre stage. A review of the council’s Standing Orders was due to be approved for 2027, and a working group established by the Protocol Committee suggested that topical issues should be retained, citing previous votes that revealed a majority of councillors support the practice.

The first rumbles of opposition appeared when Green Party Cllr Michael Pidgeon responded that they should get rid of topical issues altogether. “It’s been years since I’ve seen it used well,” he said, adding that the Lord Mayor’s business offers a chance to get the topical issues of the day on record.

This set in motion several councillors pointed out their aversion to topical issues, with Cllr Lyons stating they have already wasted so much time talking about “how useless” they are. Independent Cllr Cieran Perry too bemoaned the practice as having "absolutely no effect at all” and called for it them to be reviewed in the immediate term. Green Party Cllr Feljin Jose said he has “never seen a good topical issue” and has only witnessed time wasting.

This came to a head when Labour Cllr Darragh Moriarty suggested a roll call vote to amend the report and get rid of the topical issue practice once and for all. “Everyone speaking on it seems to be saying they are useless, and I agree,” he said.

This saw 42 councillors vote to remove the practice while 20 sought for it to be retained. Ultimately, topical issues were removed and practice will no longer be possible at future council meetings.

Chair of the working group reviewing Standing Orders Labour Cllr Dermot Lacey told Dublin Live that he’s glad there is now clarity around topical issues, as their retention was a debate that came up time and again. Although he said in principle he believes they should not be limiting the ways in which councillors can raise issues of concern.

He said he thinks it’s “a pity” that the recent outlook on topical issues has been coloured by their perceived misuse but that representatives can always find ways to bring up topics that they feel are important. Cllr Lacey said he does not view the abolition of topical issues as a major loss and that the more controversial use of the practice is “probably what has seen its demise”.

“I've never gone into a council meeting wanting to raise something and not been able to. You can always find some vague reference on the agenda to the item somewhere, and even if you can't find it, you just raise it anyway, and by the time the Lord Mayor stops you doing it, you've raised it,” he said.

This content is funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme

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