Cork City councillor will table a motion to end to the practice of saying a prayer at the beginning of council meetings
Social Democrats Padraig Rice says a clear line needs to be drawn between church and state.
Prayers are said before each council meeting and opening session in the Dail.
The councillor believes it's deeply inappropriate for meetings to be opened with a prayer:
"I think there's, there's a time and a place for religious worship, and I don't think it's at Cork City Council meetings or the Dáil for that matter. This is a democracy and not a theocracy. The people who voted for us come from all faiths and none, so I think it’s deeply inappropriate that we open our meetings with prayer and have religious iconography in the chamber – I just don’t see the need for it.