Dominick Donnelly

5^th May 2009  11 pm

The Cork Green Party has expressed its absolute disgust at all the many candidates who have broken the law and started putting up their election posters before midnight of Tuesday night.  As of Tuesday evening there are countless posters around the city area, from members of all the main parties except the Green Party.

On behalf of his Green Party colleagues, Cllr. Dominick Donnelly said:  “Any candidate who started putting up their posters before midnight on Tuesday has shown a complete disregard for the law, and is therefore not fit to be elected.  The Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government issued very clear instructions to all parties as to the rules around postering.  I have witnessed European election posters up well before midnight for Fine Gael (the so-called Law and Order party) candidates Sean Kelly and Colm Burke, Labour candidate Alan Kelly, Sinn Fein candidate Toireasa Ferris and independent candidate Kathy Synnott, as well as for local election candidates Seamus McGrath (Fianna Fail), Tim Lombard (Fine Gael) and Donncha O Laoghaire (Sinn Fein).  Cork City and County Councils must act on this, and must be seen to act on this.  Otherwise these cheats are just making a mockery of the law, and thereby the electorate, and they are clearly not fit for public office,” Cllr. Donnelly said.

“The City and County Councils must impose the fines of €150 for each poster.  To do otherwise would be negligent in the extreme, and would open the door to future gross neglect of the litter laws.  I have a number of photographs of posters taken before midnight on Tuesday, which will all be sent in to the relevant local authority, and I ask any members of the public with similar evidence to do likewise.  Each and all of the offences should be pursued, and the fines imposed should form part of the candidates official election expenditure.  In sport, if someone starts a race early they get disqualified, or at least a heavy penalty.  The same should apply to candidates who cannot abide by a very simple rule” Cllr. Donnelly concluded.

[ENDS]

Cllr. Dominick Donnelly (Carrigaline area of Cork County Council and Passage West Town Council), on behalf of fellow Green Party candidates Mick Murphy (Cork City South West), Mary Ryder (Cork City South Central), Stephen Crowley (Cork City South East) and Mark Collins (Macroom area of Cork County Council).