A DÁIL HOPEFUL has slammed “establishment bullies and thieves” who she claims removed several of her election posters advertising an upcoming public meeting.
Anne-Marie McNally, a first-time candidate for the Social Democrats in Dublin Mid-West, said that at least eight of her posters for a public meeting on corruption next Tuesday were removed from locations in Palmerston and Lucan.
McNally had erected some 60 posters at a cost of almost €500 for the meeting at the Spa Hotel in Lucan where Irish Times columnist Fintan O’Toole is due to speak.
She said that although she couldn’t establish who was behind the removal, the fact both the posters and cable ties were taken indicated it wasn’t “mischievous kids” but “establishment bullies and thieves”.
I am already in a David versus Goliath situation trying to compete against the millions of euros the established parties will spend, so it is really frustrating when the posters you have paid and had volunteers give up their time to hang, suddenly disappear.
The theft of political posters is not unusual and McNally said the feedback she had received is that this is “par for the course in Irish politics”.
“That’s a really poor indictment of the political culture and actually serves to reinforce the need for a public discussion about changing the culture of bad behaviour at the heart of Irish public life,” she said.
She said the removal of the posters is “to try to remove people’s opportunities for political engagement”.
McNally said that despite the professional nature of the removal she is hesitant to call the guards as they have “far more important things to deal with”.
“There is likely very little they can do about this so I’m reluctant to waste their time,” she added.
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