FORMER MINISTER FOR Education Jan O’Sullivan has reported the removal of the Labour Party’s referendum posters in Limerick city to gardaí.

O’Sullivan received calls from members of the public over the weekend informing her that some of the Labour Party’s Yes posters for the upcoming Eighth Amendment referendum had been taken down.

The Limerick TD told TheJournal.ie that the party had put up around 80 posters in the Limerick city area over the past few weeks. She said that around half of them have been removed.

O’Sullivan said that she had initially noticed that some posters may have been taken down last Friday and she subsequently put a call out on Twitter asking for anyone who may have seen anything to come forward.

She said that one member of the public sent a video of people removing the posters from one area of the city at around 11.30pm one night last week.

“Most of our posters in the city have already been taken down. I was very angry first of all. Our lads work voluntarily and they were up until about 4am one night putting [the posters] up,” O’Sullivan told TheJournal.ie. 

I strongly believe in democracy and I don’t believe you can silence people because you don’t believe them.

“This is just purely trying to suppress democracy and I would go so far as to say it smacks of fascism,” she said.

O’Sullivan said she reported the removal of the posters to gardaí in Limerick at around 6.30pm on Saturday.

Upon request for a statement from TheJournal.ie, gardaí said: “An Garda Síochána does not comment on material displayed in public places by third parties but will respect the rights of all concerned and investigate each case or complaint on its own merits and seek a direction from the Director of Public Prosecutions.” 

A referendum on repealing the Eighth Amendment, which gives equal constitutional status to the mother and the unborn, will be held on Friday 25 May.