FINE GAEL COUNCILLORS and election candidates are regularly given template statements with ready-made quotes praising the party’s work in government.
In what is a weekly practice from the party’s press office, template statements are sent to councillors and election hopefuls to fill in their name and constituency before distributing them to the media.
The latest template, seen by TheJournal.ie, concerns An Garda Síochána’s plan to crackdown on burglaries – Operation Thor – and is headlined: “New anti-burglary plan will send strong message to criminals in CONSTITUENCY- NAME.”
Fine Gael inadvertently alerted the media to the template statement when a text was sent to some political correspondents instead of councillors and election candidates earlier today.
The text read:
You have been emailed a template statement on Operation Thor which will see tougher sentences and stricter bail for repeat offenders. Please amend and issue.
Those Fine Gael representatives who use the statements are only required to fill in their constituency and name with all the quotes already written for them.
One quote in the Operation Thor template statement reads:
“Operation Thor will benefit from increased Government investment of €5 million,” NAME explained, adding: “While operational planning is a matter solely for the Garda Commissioner, this new operation delivers on increased investment in policing by this Government to tackle burglaries and related crime.”
The government has faced criticism for over-hyping the Operation Thor measure with critics pointing out the €5 million earmarked for the anti-burglary crackdown amounts to less than €30,000 per garda division over six months.
Independent TD Mattie McGrath told RTÉ yesterday that it should be renamed ‘Operation Spin and PR’.
Fine Gael councillors we contacted yesterday said they receive the templates on a regular basis, usually on a Monday.
One said they often contain CSO figures, and departmental figures. They said the statements and information can be “very useful”. However, they added that they usually heavily edit the statements to localise them before distributing to the media.
Another described them as “syndicated statements” which are usually for local media consumption. They are often used by regional papers around the country, the councillor said.
A third councillor said they never use them.
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