Fitzpatrick spent the most on getting elected of local TDs in last election

Peter Fitzpatrick TD

Peter Fitzpatrick spent more money campaigning for the last election than any other TD in the county, new figures have revealed.

A new analysis of election spending by The Irish Times shows that successful TDs spent an average of €18,746 campaigning, equivalent to €2.25 for each first-preference vote received.

However, Fitzpatrick was well above that with Fine Gael pumping €33,428 into his campaign. That equates to €4.26 per first preference vote.

The former Louth GAA boss wasn’t the only local TD to spend above the national average though.

The next biggest spend in Louth was by Ged Nash, with the Labour Party pumping €23,210 into his 2011 campaign. That equates to €2.66 for each of his 8,718 first preference votes.

Meanwhile, poll topper Gerry Adams of Sinn Féin spent €20,896 on his campaign, which worked out at €1.39 for each of his 15,072 first preference votes.

At a cost of €1.13 per first preference vote the best value for money was Fine Gael TD Fergus O’Dowd’s who spent €15,867 on his campaign. The Drogheda man secured 13,980 first preference votes and like his three other Dáil colleagues from Louth will stand again in the next election.

Fianna Fáil’s Seamus Kirk – who is retiring at the next election – is not included because, as Ceann Comhairle, he was returned to the Dáil automatically in 2011.

A full breakdown of figures can be found here.

Let there be posters!

The streetscape of Dundalk, Louth and the country as a whole will look a lot different this morning.

Election candidates for the local and European elections next month were able to erect campaign posters from midnight last night.

There was a scramble for the prime positions throughout the town and county, with helpers for a range of parties flying from pillar to post.

Candidates in Louth have given a declaration to keep the Giro d’Italia route free, however, meaning certain areas will be left exempt. There is no legal basis for this, however, and it may be ignored by parties, who had been asked to refrain from postering the route until after the event passes through the county on Sunday May 11th.

Above is a handful of Fine Gael candidate John McGahon’s helpers erecting posters in Seatown last night.

Cllr Morgan retracts statement made on LMFM

Cllr Oliver Morgan

Dundalk Town Councillor Oliver Morgan has retracted a statement made on the Michael Reade show on LMFM last week, in which he described an article in The Dundalk Democrat as inaccurate.

The article came about following the independent candidate’s decision to lodge a complaint with local gardaí, claiming that his Facebook account had been hacked. A user logged in as Cllr Morgan posted an explicit video on a local page – something that was quickly removed.

Cllr Morgan claimed in The Democrat that two friends who had been in his house had posted the link but a statement released to LMFM shortly after seemed to contradict this as he claimed his account was hacked by “evil elements” who wanted to thwart his local election campaign.

The Meadow Grove man now agrees that The Dundalk Democrat accurately reported a telephone interview on Monday February 24th.

In a statement released yesterday, Cllr Morgan moved to clarify his comments on LMFM which took place less than 24 hours after the interview with The Democrat.

He said: “Being under the impression that my two friends had committed a criminal offence by uploading the masturbation video to my page and being fearful of them being punished for the offence, I very wrongly told Michael that Ian Cameron’s report in the Democrat newspaper had been inaccurate.”

Shag packs to be distributed at Dundalk IT on Thursday

Thousands of ‘Shag’ packs are set to be distributed at Dundalk IT on Thursday as part of the Union of Students in Ireland’s annual sexual health campaign.

Standing for Sexual Health Awareness and Guidance (SHAG), the campaign is being run in collaboration with Durex MSD and Think Contraception.

Each pack contains a condom (donated by Durex), a sachet of lubricant and a ‘Talkoptions’ booklet on contraceptive options, along with information regarding safe sex and sexually transmitted infections.

More information will also be available on shag.usi.ie – a website dedicated to informing third level students about safe sex.

The campaign incorporates a Sexual Health Education Roadshow which includes interactive stands, workshops by ‘Dr Sex’, doctor of sexual health promotion Siobhan Higgins and a show by the world’s only sexual health magician.

Denise McCarthy, USI deputy president/vice president for welfare, said the focus of this campaign was to promote positive attitudes towards sex and raise awareness to all aspects of sexual health.