WHEN SHE LAUNCHED her new political party in March, Lucinda Creighton bluntly stated that Renua had no money.

The party was only able to set up a bank account in the last few weeks and so far only its public representatives along with regional and constituency board members have formally signed up as members.

With a few hundred of these official party members and some donations, Renua has so far raised in the region of €30,000 to €40,000, according to Creighton who came into TheJournal.ie for a wide-ranging interview earlier today.

The party will be getting “very serious” about fundraising in the coming weeks, she said.

We couldn’t open a bank account until we had been formally recognised and gone through all the hoops with the registrar of political parties.

Renua hopes to be in a position to accept membership fees through its website in “the next couple of days”. It will cost €20 to join or €10 if you’re unemployed.

Some have raised questions as to how the party has been able to attract the considerable talents of journalist John Drennan as its new director of communications and political strategy.

We asked Creighton about this and other fundraising matters today:

There will be more from our interview with Lucinda Creighton on TheJournal.ie in the coming days. 

Read: Lucinda denies Yes Kilkenny page was a ‘front’ for Renua

Renua’s guide to canvassing: ‘Don’t forget to be a regular person, who acts like a human’