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Updated 19.50pm
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THE SOCIALIST PARTY’S Paul Murphy has won the Dublin South-West by-election, upsetting the odds to take a Dáil seat that Sinn Féin had been heavily backed to win.
Murphy beat Sinn Féin councillor Cathal King in a tight race with just 566 votes between the pair after the eighth and final count at the National Basketball Arena in Tallaght.
King led throughout much of the count but Murphy was able to whittle down Sinn Féin’s initial lead of 748 votes over the Socialists thanks to transfers from several other party and independent candidates as they were eliminated.
Earlier in the day, independent candidates Colm O’Keeffe and Tony Rochford, Green Party candidate Francis Noel Duffy, People Before Profit’s Nicky Coules, independent Declan Burke, Fianna Fáil’s John Lahart, and Labour’s Pamela Kearns were all eliminated.
Eventually, Murphy benefitted from the transfers of eliminated independent Ronan McMahon and Fine Gael’s Cáit Keane to overtake King with 9,565 votes to 8,999 on the final count the result of which was confirmed just after 5.30pm.
Socialist TD Joe Higgins declared the result an “earthquake” to the political system while Murphy said the message to the government was clear:
“Axe the water charges. Axe the tax or watch your vote collapse in the next general election.”
The result is a blow to Sinn Féin who had been tipped to take the Dáil seat vacated by Fine Gael’s Brian Hayes after his election to the European Parliament last May.
The campaign was dominated by the water charges debate.
While Sinn Féin gave a commitment to abolish water charges if in government, the party said it would retain the new utility Irish Water and fund it through general taxation. King said he would not be paying his water bill while senior party figures said they would.
The Socialists argued for the outright abolition of Irish Water and called on voters to boycott their water charges and mount a campaign of non-payment.
There were also accusations of ‘dirty tricks’ after a fake Facebook comment by Murphy was shared by some Sinn Féin representatives including deputy leader Mary Lou McDonald.
Eliminated John Lahart, a Fianna Fáil councillor, said his challenge in the by-election was that people would “know my name”, saying: “I am coming out of it energised, and I am looking forward to the next year, building on that.”
Fine Gael senator Cáit Keane admitted “issues on the ground” affected her campaign citing “water charges in particular”. She said that “people are hurting”.
“I suppose it was a pity the Budget didn’t come before the election not after it because definitely changes in their own pocket does matter,” Keane said.
King had been widely tipped to win the seat, but Murphy was looking on course to win not long after the boxes were opened at 9am this morning when he appeared to be neck-and-neck with the Sinn Féin candidate.
Sinn Féin, notoriously weak on transfers, accepted it would struggle to maintain its 748 after the first count and sources admitted the party had lost ground in the final weeks of the campaign as the water charges issue dominated.
Speaking to TheJournal.ie earlier this morning, a confident looking Murphy insisted it was “too early to say” what would happen.
The low turnout – just under 35 per cent – was also expected to work again Sinn Féin which had mounted a strong and well-resourced campaign for the seat where it already has a sitting TD, Seán Crowe.
This morning, Murphy was reported to have outpolled King by 3-to-1 in the Templeogue and Kilnamanagh areas of the constituency.
The former MEP, who ran under the Anti-Austerity Alliance banner, was also said to be nearly level with King in the Sinn Féin stronghold of Jobstown where the AAA mounted a strong campaign in recent weeks.
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Aengus Ó Snodaigh should be jailed for what he did, any other employee in the state who did what he has done would be fired and charged……. When are these people going to remember, or for that matter reminded, that they work for us, are answerable to us and will pay a price for their behavious
I am not condoning what he did for one second but if he should get jail in my opinion there are one or two who should be hung, drawn and quartered. Nuff said
It was excessive and he shouldn’t of taken advantage but the bankers and ff have done worse to this country than what he’s done!! Brown envelopes, trips abroad, excessive claims on houses etc, you can’t said he should be jailed when Bertie and all his cronies are still walking around!!
Jail for hitting the printer too hard? Are you mad? We’re all turning into soapbox corner ranters around here.
Any other country he would have resigned, But This is Ireland
WOW, unbelievable … If you stole 50,000 worth of anything from your employer… you’d be in jail… Aren’t our politician supposed to be held to a higher account….. Some of the responses here remind me of the old saying ” you get the politicians you truly deserve”
@ Sandra…. Oh ok, so on your basis of belief the Paedophile priest that raped 2 boys shouldn’t be charged as he raped far less boys that the others…. A zero tolerance approach is needed by those that we put in power
@ Brian – I think people are in general agreement with you that if you stole €50,000 worth of anything from your employer you’d be in jail, up the steps before your feet could touch the ground. The point I can see people making is that there are far, far, far worse in the Dail than him. They all overclaim on their expenses (apart from that one who doesn’t claim anything, can’t remember his name), they are responsible for the country being in the mess it’s in. Yet none of them are held accountable. And never will in my opinion. That is what needs to change. They need to each be held accountable for their actions and frauds. The only way that change will come in is if the politicians themselves change it. But they’re not going to vote for performance checks on themselves, or the expenses reduced and have to vouch for what they claim. And have their gravy train stopped a few stations earlier? Not a chance.
This is Ireland, everyone knows once you are Elected you can do what you want !!!!!!!!! And if Aengus didnt print those chinese menus, people would have taken to the streets !!!!!!!
It wasn’t illegal what he did. If it was he would of been arrested and charged.
It was stupid but not illegal and he only way for him to get his comeuppance is to be fired at the next election.
Ligal or illegal This is Ireland and we all know once you are Elected you are above the law because time and time again we see this crap and nobody gets in trouble for it ! Expenses, Mistakes or Stealing is expected once you are elected !!!!!!!
My sympathies go to the families of those poor children and adults who were killed in the crash in Switzerland. May they rest in peace.
I thought a cosmonaut was a biscuit , mmmmmmmmmmm cos-mo-naut .
Why jail him for using too much ink? What about the bankers and the politicians who ruined the country through greed, corruption and downright negligence? Start with them and see if there is any room left in prisons?
When you don’t address the wrong doings of our politicians, you give others leeway to do as they please…. Bankers, developers etc…… Not taking on Haughey and his cronies has lead us to where we are today
Don’t want to sound like one of the Corrs but I starting to think more and more that no one has been to the moon. I mean USA is going there in 2018 Russia in 2030, you would swear they had to invent the technology to get there.
*I’m
They don’t have to invent the technology just the reason to want to go. The last time was ideological east versus west. This time probably more political. It gives whoevere is in power a boost in the polls when they mention space travel.
Maybe if the scabby feckers who make ink cartridges put more actual ink into their product he wouldn’t have needed to use 50,000 of them?
Until you put Bertie behind bar’s then calling for any other politician to be jailed is just not going to wash.
Why no article on the Revenue defaulters list published yesterday? Civil servants are vilified on this site on a regular basis but when almost €130m is collected in three months (by civil servants) from private sector tax cheats, there’s not a mention of it.
Ben, they are being paid to collect the taxes in the first place, for having that amount outstanding at any stage several should be fired….. So let congratulate them for collecting, late, what they are paid to collect on time…
I’m not talking about arrears of tax. I’m talking about €130m being collected by audit/investigation. There’s a big difference Brian
all politicians should be made to account for all expenditure that is not reasonable
have your say