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Geoghegan is flanked by two Fine Gael ministers at the RDS this morning. The Journal

FG's James Geoghegan surveyed voters door-to-door for Renua but 'nobody asked' who he was with

Geoghegan said that he knocked to “maybe 50 people” ahead of the 2016 general election.

FINE GAEL BY-ELECTION candidate James Geoghegan has said that he engaged in door-to-door polling on behalf of Renua in 2016 but that “nobody asked” who he was representing.

Geoghegan is running for Fine Gael in the Dublin Bay South by-election but previously worked for Lucinda Creighton, a former Fine Gael TD for the area who left the party to form Renua.

Geoghegan has previously stated that he “re-engaged with Fine Gael” after Creighton lost her seat in the 2016 general election.

Creighton essentially lost her seat to Kate O’Connell, who was elected for Fine Gael alongside party colleague Eoghan Murphy, the Green Party’s Eamon Ryan and Jim O’Callaghan of Fianna Fáil. 

Speaking to reporters today, Geoghegan acknowledged that he had polled door-to-door ahead of that election and did not represent himself as being a Renua official.

“So in the 2016 general election for Lucinda I carried out a poll as a volunteer, it proved pretty accurate, she was up against it,” he said. 

We would have carried out a poll as volunteers, we would have knocked at the doors, it was just a head to head poll about the standing in the race. You ask people, nobody ever asked me personally when I did it who are you representing, if anyone had asked I would not have misrepresented my position but nobody ever asked. 

Geoghegan said that he knocked to “maybe 50 people” and said he was “polling for this constituency in the upcoming election”. 

Geoghegan’s admission comes after Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, Sinn Féin and the Green Party all acknowledged now that they previously engaged in the practice of carrying out surveys for candidates without being open about their motivations. 

Speaking alongside Geoghegan this morning, Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney said that people in his constituency would previously have surveyed people without saying they were from Fine Gael.

He said he personally hadn’t participated in the practice but that “I don’t think it would have been uncommon.”

There would have been people doing survey work in the constituency and not saying they were Fine Gael. That shouldn’t have happened. I think it’s important that people put their hands up and say that it shouldn’t have happened. It doesn’t happen anymore, polling is now done by professional polling agencies and organisations. 

Coveney said that the practice hasn’t been carried out in his party in the past “six or seven years” and it was discontinued because “it became clear it wasn’t the professional way to do things”. 

“The approach towards data protection issues now is very different to what it was 10 years ago. And politics in terms of knocking on doors and trying to understand how your constituents were feeling the survey work around that, it was a lot looser then than it is now.”

Speaking at the same event in the RDS, Junior Minister Hildegarde Naughton said that she personally wasn’t told about results of such polling done in her constituency and didn’t personally engage in it either.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin said this morning that his Fianna Fáil party had used the practice before 2007 and that no personal data was kept on people. 

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    Mute Gareth Wogan
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    Jun 10th 2021, 12:01 PM

    Nobody asked who i was. Ya you didn’t say who you were either

    240
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    Mute Will
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    Jun 10th 2021, 12:24 PM

    @Gareth Wogan: Always ask for credentials when someone ‘official’ comes to your door. Once you see exactly who they are you can then slam the door in their face with twice the satisfaction.

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    Mute Jointheclubtoo
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    Jun 10th 2021, 12:39 PM

    @Will: Well then don’t wonder why the potholes on your road are never filled, especially the big one outside your gate that was never there before.

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    Mute Dangling Damo
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    Jun 10th 2021, 1:09 PM

    @Jointheclubtoo: its parish pump politics. You should not have to tolerate these people just to get services you pay taxes for.

    56
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    Mute Will
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    Jun 10th 2021, 3:05 PM

    @Jointheclubtoo: “Well then don’t wonder why the potholes on your road are never filled”

    And isn’t that’s what’s wrong with politics in this country?
    I’d happily fill the potholes in myself rather then vote for that kind of backward carry on.

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    Mute Jointheclubtoo
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    Jun 10th 2021, 5:44 PM

    @Will: Thanks, you can have a loan of my shovel if you break your own.

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    Mute Jointheclubtoo
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    Jun 10th 2021, 5:51 PM

    @Dangling Damo: So what your saying is all my sucking up to FFG and their trolls on here is unnecessary. Well that’s a weight off my shoulders.

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    Mute Will
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    Jun 11th 2021, 8:47 AM

    @Jointheclubtoo: “Thanks, you can have a loan of my shovel if you break your own.”

    Be honest, you’ve never owned a shovel in your life!

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    Mute Diarmuid Hehir
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    Jun 10th 2021, 11:58 AM

    All I can say is lol

    146
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    Mute Inky Fingers Inc.
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    Jun 10th 2021, 12:42 PM

    Surely the honest thing is to declare who you are working for, rather than deception by omission?

    This lad is the definition of a snake

    102
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    Mute Craic-Hommy
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    Jun 10th 2021, 11:58 AM

    They are all it, the bails Phil opened up a can of worms. The 3 biggest parties in the state acting like creeps. A certain Cavan FF politician is sweating I’d say with his “legendary database”. Gonna hit him with a SAR for the craic!

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    Mute thesaltyurchin
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    Jun 10th 2021, 12:40 PM

    Dunno why this is so shocking, listening to the ‘Newstalkers’ squawking like seagulls has been fun tho.

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    Mute john doe
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    Jun 10th 2021, 1:09 PM

    @thesaltyurchin: have Newstalk still a big issue with this or was that only yesterday when it was SF in the firing line?

    93
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    Mute Declan Doherty
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    Jun 10th 2021, 12:58 PM

    So they stopped “because it became clear it wasn’t a professional way of doing things.” That reminds me of the question Catherine Connolly asked Leo about his leaking of confidential documents. At what pint did they realise this was wrong given that any fool on the street could have told them it was wrong at the time.

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    Mute Eddie O'Neill
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    Jun 10th 2021, 12:54 PM

    The Bull**** is strong in this fella

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    Mute Quiet Goer
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    Jun 10th 2021, 12:52 PM

    Geo-oh-oh-oh-oh-oghegan

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    Mute Bingobango
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    Jun 10th 2021, 1:26 PM

    @Quiet Goer: If anybody votes for this reptile they need their head examined. A shapeshifter of the highest order. Unfortunately DBS has always been an FG stronghold but I really hope people can see through this awful candidate.

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    Mute Virgil
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    Jun 10th 2021, 12:53 PM

    Er I’ll vote who I want to regardless. How is this even news ?

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    Mute john doe
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    Jun 10th 2021, 1:10 PM

    @Virgil: it’s news because it came out about SF first so was seen as an opportunity to throw some dirt. Looks like the dirt got everywhere though.

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    Mute Shawn O'Ceallaghan
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    Jun 10th 2021, 2:27 PM

    Does anyone care of political parties poll voters? It’s not that big of a deal

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    Mute Tony Harris
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    Jun 10th 2021, 4:03 PM

    @Shawn O’Ceallaghan: Unless of course it’s SF, then apparently it is. Funny how it gets dropped just as quick when “real” political parties are involved……

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    Mute Sportmad
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    Jun 10th 2021, 4:33 PM

    What a load of cr#p
    It was asked if any other parties did this type of canvassing and all said no but FG
    They would not give an answer.
    Typical political parties put a spin on it we will be the finest as the people always forget at elections
    Funny thing is we do why is that?

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    Mute Mary Nugent
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    Jun 10th 2021, 4:51 PM

    If he gets elected.

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    Mute Dave
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    Jun 10th 2021, 9:42 PM

    Simons body language in that video tells you all you need to know!! My god this place is rotten to the core

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