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Updated 2.25pm
SOCIALIST PARTY MEP Paul Murphy has been forced to take down some of his election posters after he erected them before he was legally allowed to do so.
Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council has told Murphy he must remove posters but has not told him if he faces being fined for putting them up early.
The Dublin MEP, who is seeking re-election to the European Parliament on 23 May, had been spotted putting up posters around the capital this weekend and confirmed this morning that a few hundred had gone up in the last 24 hours.
TheJournal.ie has received dozens of reports of candidates’ posters being prematurely erected in the last 24 hours with Murphy prominent among them.
Those running in the local and European elections are not legally allowed to erect their election posters until tomorrow with many set to scale lampposts across the country at around midnight tonight.
Murphy said that only authorities in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown have so far told him to remove the posters in its area.
Earlier, the MEP defended his decision, saying it was a response to rival Fianna Fáil candidate Mary Fitzpatrick putting up posters over the weekend - a move she said was a result of new volunteers.
“Mary Fitzpatrick had stared putting up her posters and we didn’t want to be at a disadvantage,” he said. “I think we felt we had no choice. We’re not going to sit at home and not get our posters up.”
Murphy’s decision means he is in breach of Dublin City Council protocols and the Litter Pollution Act 1997, putting him at risk of fines of up to €150 for each poster.
But he said he does not expect to receive a large number of fines, nor does he think it will bother voters when they go to the polls.
“They have gone up 24 hours earlier than is permitted, so we’ll see. We’ll be asking the councils to demonstrate some leniency.”“I think the number of people who are going to determine how they vote because of posters going up a little bit early, you are talking about 10 or 20 people in the city.”
Murphy said that the Socialist Party is not one of “law and order” citing examples where it has broken what it believes are “unjust laws” although he said this does not apply in this case.
However, he added: “I don’t think people will be bothered by it.”
First published 9.05am
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A quick google sesrch. Page 1.
Here’s some interesting headlines from 2019:
“Sinn Féin defends right to hold $500-a-plate US dinners after criticising Fine Gael fundraiser”
“Sinn Féin fundraising passes $15 million total in America after New York dinner”
Another from 2021:
“$1,000-a-plate golf fundraiser in US not a ‘Galway tent scenario’, says Sinn Féin TD”
@honey badger: Ah it is perhaps just designed to protect the miscreants who were sent offside.
Kiddie fiddlers like Meehan and the rest? Talk to me Mary. Mc G and others don’t feature in your rhetorical bullmanure
Ther was no sign of Mary Sue at the latest march for Palestine last weekend in Dublin yet she turns up in London at one. She seems to be dodging a lot of marches on Ireland letely
SINN Fein – a party not even in power, and already they announced that they won’t accept the will of the voters in the upcoming referendum.
Why are we not surprised.
@DGQ: The PIRA murdered 338 Catholics. If you’re a big fan of their work, don’t be ashamed of that work. Own it.
SF going to see president Joe in the White House on St Patrick’s day then turn on the crocodile tears for the Palestinian people when they get back to Ireland . Hypocrites .
An Irish Unity summit in New York…..bring the begging bowl.
hi mary, are ye goin to give us up north a tv licence amnesty too?
Of course it’s a fundraising trip!
Why was it not held in Iceland or somewhere else. My question is what is why do SF need all the funds for??
Has the money from the Northern Bank heist run out? Is Shergar still alive? Some Sire!! Have Eddie and
Rose spent all their ill gotten gains? Is Naomh Fionbarra really a sports club?
Teams and Skype exists.
It wount be long now!
have your say