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A CANDIDATE RUNNING for European Parliament has threatened to launch legal proceedings against Dublin Bus over its ban on political advertisements.
A solicitor for Hermann Kelly, who founded the Irish Freedom Party but is standing in Dublin as an independent, has written to the company asking it to place 60 ads on its buses after cancelling an agreement to run 30 ads for his client this week.
Exertion Media, which manages advertising for the public transport company, contacted Kelly on 16 May to say it been told by CIE to stop accepting bookings for the upcoming local and European election campaigns.
A spokesman for Exertion Media told Kelly that the decision was made following a “high volume” of complaints relating to other political ad campaigns in recent weeks.
Kelly said he had paid €5,000 to the company to feature 30 ads on Dublin Bus between 20 May and 2 June, but that this was refunded following Exertion Media’s decision.
In a letter seen by TheJournal.ie, his solicitor told Dublin Bus that his client was “extremely concerned” by the decision, saying it would negatively affect his campaign.
He also called for the company to run the advertising campaign and to double the number of ads that were originally agreed by way of compensation, warning that failure to do so would leave Kelly with “no other option” than to begin legal proceedings.
Dublin Bus has already run ads for Fianna Fáil’s Barry Andrews, Fine Gael’s Frances Fitzgerald, Labour’s Alex White, and independents Clare Daly and Gemma O’Doherty.
A number of these ads are still visible on the company’s fleet, although it is understood they are not affected by the ban because they had been placed on the buses before the decision was taken.
Earlier this month, NBRU General Secretary Dermot O’Leary wrote to Dublin Bus to condemn advertisements run by another unnamed candidate.
He said that it was “incumbent on Dublin Bus to explain its rationale” in accepting advertisements and to “consider the consequences” of doing so.
Dublin Bus did not respond to queries or request for comment.
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Keep making a big song and dance Hermann! Great “free” publicity stunt! But I still won’t be voting for you!
@Bull McCabe: Dublin Bus and Transport for Ireland only support FF&FG. No chance other politicians can get a level playing field. You’d be crazy to vote FF/FG ever again
@Bull McCabe: He won’t get more than 500 votes and end up bottom of the pile, just like Peter O’Loughlin last time around. No facists on our public transport.
@Whoswho: you should probably read the article again, the devil is in the detail. It says Dublin Bus have run ads for 1 candidate each from FG/FF/LAB but also 2 independent candidates, seems pretty level to me
@Orla Smith: Fascist how? Since you can’t even spell the word I doubt you know what it means.
@Flip off: facist- a person that can’t look beyond the face value of things to see the real complexity of an issue but rather boils it down to us vs them
@Whoswho: ehm, they had posters for Claire Daly before the ban. As far as I know she’s not ffg. You should either read the article before commenting or find out who’s who in Irish politics.
@Whoswho: Clare Daly, Alex White and Gemma O’Doherty FF/FG. Are you trying to be funny
@Orla Smith: anyone using the term fascist about Irish politicians in 2019 is a brainwashed liberal.
@Orla Smith: you can’t even spell the word, never mind understand what it is
I suspect I wouldn’t vote for him, but they shouldn’t be able to cancel an agreement 8 days before the election, after they’d already taken his money, and already run ads for other candidates.
I’m not voting for him but he has a valid argument. RTE only let candidates they select in the televised debates, now Dublin bus only letting the candidates they select run ads. It’s looking less democratic around here with FF/FG in government.
@Wade Wilson: Every candidate got airtime on RTE, either by appearing on the debate or by pre recorded segment. Dublin Bus isn’t a media outlet and can choose whatever ads they want. As for threatening to sue, it’s a publicity stunt in an attempt to get around the broadcast moratorium.
Never heard of you but if this is how immature you act now what would you be like in europe.im embarrassed for you.
@Tony Hanratty: in a context where RTE have to mention everybody, a semi-state company refusing equal access to their advertisement service is a real issue. I’ve no idea who this person is but it’s setting a bad precedent. Either accept all political ads or none.
@Toomasu Sumitsu: Dublin Bus aren’t s media organisation do they can decide what adverts they choose to take.
My campaign is about fighting for an Ireland that is both sovereign and independent. An Ireland were the Irish people decide their own laws in their own Parliament in full control of their destiny . I also intend to fight against plans for a European army and to protect Ireland from the EU attack on our corporate tax sovereignty. We have also learned in recent days that Facebook have set up a team in Dublin to censor ideas and candidates on the social media platform. They will be advised by EU policymakers on which ideas and policies are acceptable .
Democratic debate with a wide breadth of ideas and candidates is not being allowed.
A gladiator never complains of losing a fight but only of being excluded from the arena. That is what is happening in groupthink Ireland.
This action by CIE and also RTE rules on who gets onto live debates strangles new entrants and new ideas, constrict free democratic debate and should be resisted by all who value freedom of expression regardless of political allegiance.
There is blatant attempt by the Irish establishment to stitchup the elections, and block independent candidates from the public airwaves, even before ‘the dogs are out of the traps.’
The hallmark of living in a healthy democracy is that our elections should be
free and fair .The intervention from the RTE and CIE clearly undermines this and it also means the voting public are not informed of the variety of voting choices that are on offer.
@hermann kelly: I don’t pay my TV licence so Alt-Right fascists and xenophobes who won’t even get any votes can spew bile on our public broadcaster. Speaking of ‘Groupthink’ you blocked me on Twitter because I disagreed with you!
@Orla Smith: funny, he blocked me when I pointed out the truth to him. He just doesn’t like to hear anything that doesn’t fit his narrative.
Hermann is such a good Irish name
@David Gillespie: David is a Hebrew name, so what’s your point?
@Red Hen: shalom David
@Gus Sheridan:
Shamon mutha funka
@David Gillespie: RACIST .
@Red Hen: no its not… David comes from the word Druid.
A very Irish name.
@Liam Kelly: no it doesn’t. It is a biblical name.
@Seán Ó Breasláin: the druids were around long before the bible
There are more than enough ads plastered about, we don’t need any more.H e is just looking for free publicity.
If he/she paid 5000 for this, I would imagine they have an obligation of result, or to refund the money. All candidates should have the same access to ads, especially if they have made payment, which Dublin bus did not forget to take. This candidate has also been careful not to be named in this article…why ?
@Dominic Leleu: his name and his party are given in the second paragraph.
@Dominic Leleu: They also state that his money was refunded. The groupings of letters between the headline and the comments can be deciphered to give a message if you really concentrate.
@Dominic Leleu: Read the article. The money was refunded
@Dominic Leleu: He was named five times in the article. He got a full refund and now he is getting free PR. He did well out of it
@Dominic Leleu: mea culpa… I did not concentrate on this, then he has no much ground, it is just a stunt.
Will read better next time
They should have banned for all party’s not just for one party that’s unfair. They should have that set in place for the next election.
Hermann the Verman!!
In the interest of fairness, I think it would have been better to let the political ads go ahead as some candidates had been given the facility – with no political ads next time if that is to be the policy
If recent elections have shown us anything, it’s that lies and sides of buses are happy bedfellows
@jamesdecay: FFG/Lab have Bus Loads of Liars .
As much as a really don’t like the man he is 100% correct. Either you allow him to place his ads or you have a complete ban including removing all current ads and give the individuals their money back. Can’t be one rule for some and another for everyone else.
The Palestine Alliance ad on 3 buses in Donnybrook had to be taken down because the Israel embassy in Ireland objected to it. Sadaka campaign, called “Eurovision 2019: Nothing to Sing About” focuses on the widespread and systematic campaign by Israeli forces to target, detain, intimidate and imprison Palestinian children.
I’d rather vote for the plague
@Darren Bates: The FG or FF plague?
I’ve heard of Hermann Melville but not this chap. I take it he wants freedom but from who?
@Adolf Galland: I’ve heard of Hermann Göring.
@Orla Smith: And Hermann’s Hermits
@Robby D: Even better! They all want to be living in caves cut-off from the evil EU, LOL!
Time for Irexit. Close the borders.
The Hermannator.
BS – what ban, just saw a Claire Daly ad on the back of the 67 in Celbridge
@Gordon Walsh: They explained that some ads went up before the ban and that the ban was a result of public complaints.
@Gordon Walsh: it could just have been Clare Daly?
@Gordon Walsh: Whats on the back of the 69er then lol.
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