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.
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