'There's no democracy in this chamber...'
The comments were made at the June Metro Meeting in The Large Room, Waterford City Hall.
A local councillor decried the "lack of democracy" at the recent election of the Mayor of the Metropolitan District of Waterford.
Independent Councillor Donal Barry made the comments moments after Councillor Adam Wyse (Fianna Fáil) was named as Mayor.
Cllr Barry began his statement: "I have genuinely no issue with who is the Mayor of Waterford City or the Mayor of Waterford County."
He continued: "We came in here and tonight and we've all known for weeks who was going to be Mayor, it wasn't a contest as far as I am concerned, but we went through the motions.
"We talked about democracy in our last Plenary meeting but there is no democracy in this chamber if you're not prepared to sell your political soul to argue the policies of Government party members."
Cllr Barry stated that the position of a Mayor had been "weakened" in recent years and that Mayors from Government parties have "failed" to get a lead on Waterford projects.
He referenced a motion passed by Waterford Council in February 2025, which urged progress on a business case over Waterford Airport.
He said: "We didn't even get a response to that."
Cllr Barry ended his comments with the proposal that councillors from all parties should be given a fair chance to become Mayor.
Not every councillor shared the same sentiment as Cllr Barry.
Councillor Jim D'Arcy (Fine Gael) later said in the meeting: "I think this is democracy at its best. I can't think of a better system. We're all here with our mandates and we've chosen you [Cllr Wyse].
"It's slightly disappointing to hear people be so negative. We know there are challenges ahead, I don't think this evening is the time for that, I think it's time for celebration."
