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Sinn Féin TD Eoin Ó Broin.

Voter data: Eoin Ó Broin defends 'unusual' appearance as witness to a committee he's a member of

A Fine Gael Senator said it was “an affront” to the committee that Sinn Féin did not send its general secretary as other parties did.

SINN FÉIN’S EOIN Ó Broin TD has defended his appearance as a witness at an Oireachtas Committee instead of the party’s general secretary. 

The Committee for Housing, Local Government and Heritage was today hearing evidence from officials from various parties as part of its examination of the proposed Electoral Reform Bill. 

The discussions focused on how parties canvass and store voter data and whether they are compliant with data protection laws. 

Ó Broin, who is a member of the committee, defended his party’s data collection practices amid questions it has faced from the Data Protection Commission.

The committee today heard from the general secretaries of Fine Gael, the Green Party, Labour and the Social Democrats as well as Fianna Fáil’s assistant general secretary. 

Ó Broin appeared on behalf of his party, saying that he is “a member of the party leadership and the party’s national strategy group” and that he has worked with Sinn Féin for 20 years.

He said he didn’t believe it was “problematic” that he is a member of the committee and would be a witness at the committee. 

He said that he would not “ask questions of himself” but that he would ask questions “as I’m entitled to do” and “happily answer questions”. 

“As per the letter of invitation to the party, it was an invitation to the secretary general or their nominee and the party has chosen me as their nominee. So I’m quite happy to fulfil that role. My understanding is there’s nothing in standing orders to prohibit such a decision,” Ó Broin said. 

Green Party chair of the committee Steven Matthews TD said the letter to parties had asked for the presence of the “general secretaries or assistant general secretaries of the parties….. or their nominee”. 

It appears that Deputy Ó Broin has been nominated as the representative of the general secretary of Sinn Féin.  

“It is an unusual situation I have to admit that somebody is appearing both as a witness and as a member of the committee,” he said. 

Matthews told the Sinn Féin deputy that he would not be able to ask questions because “witnesses don’t question witnesses”. 

PastedImage-11555 Committee chair Steven Matthews. Oireachtas.ie Oireachtas.ie

Fine Gael Senator John Cummins objected to Sinn Féin’s decision to send Ó Broin as its representative and said that the committee should request that the party’s general secretary appears instead. 

“I just think it’s an affront to this committee to be perfectly frank with you,” Cummins said.

I would question what Sinn Féin has to hide by sending someone like Eoin Ó Broin that has absolute privilege to this committee, over and above the general secretary of the party and I’d be formally requesting that the General Secretary comes before this committee, along with someone from People Before Profit and the independent group as well.

Abú

During the course of the committee, most of the TDs and Senators focused their questions on Ó Broin, with the Dublin Mid-West defending his party’s Abú electoral database. 

Ó Broin was asked to address reports in the Sunday Independent that Sinn Féin activists were told in a training manual to use personal information posted online to establish the address of a potential voter and that this was searchable within the Abú system. 

Ó Broin said that the training manual in question “was about the use of social media and not Abú” and that the person who wrote the manual was incorrect. 

“It’s clear in hindsight that the person who wrote those particular sentences wasn’t accustomed with the system. It is not possible to upload information onto the Abú system from social media,” Ó Broin said. 

“The safeguard for this is the Data Protection Commissioner who is reviewing all of these matters and we’re giving her full access to all of this information and she’ll make her determination and all of this in time.”

Ó Broin said that he could not give a figure as to the number of people who have access to the system. 

He said that the party “doesn’t centrally control” the system and that “two or three people” in each local constituency have access to it.

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    Mute Paddy Ryan
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    Jan 7th 2024, 5:17 PM

    The IDA are doing a fantastic job for this country. Credit where credit is due.

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    Mute Iano C
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    Jan 7th 2024, 6:46 PM

    @Paddy Ryan: Couldn’t agree more!

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    Mute Pete Murray
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    Jan 7th 2024, 11:32 PM

    @Paddy Ryan: all thanks to the wonderful FG :)

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    Mute D Farrell
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    Jan 8th 2024, 12:51 PM

    @Pete Murray: Yes, FG are pro jobs, but so too are FF. Sinn Fein is against international investment, and there will be negative job and corporation tax income consequences in the medium-term if elected.

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    Mute John Meade
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    Jan 7th 2024, 4:22 PM

    Nice little holiday for him

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    Mute alan scott
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    Jan 7th 2024, 4:34 PM

    @Cormac Carroll: lol they paid 20 billion in tax XD. Stop with the communist view point that multinationals don’t pay tax. Only for these companies Ireland would be among your poorest EU countries.

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    Mute Machine Learning IRE
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    Jan 7th 2024, 6:25 PM

    The Irish government won’t invest properly in home-grown Irish tech start-ups. Enterprise Ireland is a basket case of corruption and red tape, and the Country Enterprise Boards (in particular, Kildare County Enterprise Board) are a barrier to entrepreneurs and true innovation. In other EU countries, safeguards and mechanisms are in place to ensure that innovation and invention are fostered, mechanics that prevent the fund managers from favouritism. Some of the shoot that gets funded is laughable, while cutting edge innovators have to leave the island to get funding. Irish industry suffers, job exporting is nourished, and tax is lost. Never blame our successful entrepreneurs for going overseas.

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    Mute Machine Learning IRE
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    Jan 7th 2024, 6:26 PM

    @Machine Learning IRE: The Irish government is trying to attract overseas successful businesses with taxation giveaways instead of building on and nourturing our own talent.

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    Mute Pete Murray
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    Jan 7th 2024, 11:34 PM

    @Machine Learning IRE: looks like someone’s useless idea got shot down lol

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    Mute Thesaltyurchin
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    Jan 8th 2024, 8:51 AM

    @Machine Learning IRE: We’ve always been a fan of ‘franchise over local’. It has largely worked but if we see another bust moment we will not have capitalised on it, in terms of infrastructure, lean times are going to continue and the constant marketplace volatility is now normal.

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    Mute thomas molloy
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    Jan 7th 2024, 4:22 PM

    @Cormac Carroll: You mean pension funds, but that doesn’t sound negative enough.

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    Mute James Moylan
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    Jan 7th 2024, 5:52 PM

    @Cormac Carroll: multinationals corporation tax are paying your welfare

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    Mute mark sheehan
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    Jan 7th 2024, 5:07 PM

    @Cormac Carroll: the 13 billion is being held by Ireland but the money is owed to Europe, that doesn’t suit your narrative.

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    Mute Dave Hammond
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    Jan 8th 2024, 1:01 PM

    @mark sheehan: eh that’s not strictly speaking the accurate facts either –the ruling was that Ireland had undercharged apple 13bn in corporation taxes and they paid the money into escrow while the case grinds away – specifically instead of charging 12% there was an agreement to only charge something favourable like 1.5% – of course if this gets resolved and the 13bn does accrue to Ireland as mandated – there is the possibility that some of the other eu countries ask to backdate and stake a claim to some of that – but that’s actually not a sure thing or an easy thing to do based on the agreements in place at the time – so it might not suit your narrative but actually the 13bn is due to Ireland as the rulings stand at the moment.

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    Mute Ian McDonald
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    Jan 7th 2024, 5:44 PM

    @Cormac Carroll: it’s important when having a rant Cormac that you ignore the taxes into the Exchequer from employing so many people here, and the knock benefits to the local economies. Those points should never get in the way of a good, blinkered rant

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    Mute honey badger
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    Jan 7th 2024, 5:02 PM

    @Cormac Carroll: I’d politely suggest you revisit your understanding of the Apple tax that they are “due to pay us”. That clanger after saying multinationals don’t pay tax here too.
    SMH.

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    Mute Gerry Hannan
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    Jan 7th 2024, 4:32 PM

    This man is so on the ball. That’s just what we need. More talk.

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    Mute alan scott
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    Jan 7th 2024, 5:19 PM

    @Cormac Carroll: Work more than the rest of Europe??? Where did you get these figures from??? Talking BS again. Making stuff up as usual.

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    Mute Chris Gaffney
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    Jan 7th 2024, 5:31 PM

    @Cormac Carroll: Comedians like you and probably your sf heroes are the reason Ireland will be an economic wasteland within a couple of years of sf getting into power. Hopefully it wont happen for many years yet!!!

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    Mute uXGdMXx5
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    Jan 7th 2024, 10:01 PM

    Ah another PR piece for the Government

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    Mute Jason Memail
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    Jan 7th 2024, 5:27 PM

    @Cormac Carroll: How much tax would be enough, Cormac?

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    Mute Dman
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    Jan 7th 2024, 4:18 PM

    Ah sure ye are great craic!!!!!

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    Mute Pete Murray
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    Jan 7th 2024, 11:30 PM

    @Cormac Carroll: why do you lefties have to lie all the time?

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    Mute Pete Murray
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    Jan 7th 2024, 11:31 PM

    @Cormac Carroll: imagine employing someone like you lol

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    Mute Dean Smyth
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    Jan 7th 2024, 9:30 PM

    @Chris Gaffney: Jokes

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