A Fine Gael candidate in Dublin South East has said his campaign team “ignored” advice sent by his director of elections that voters should be urged to give transfers to a named independent candidate in Friday’s election.
Eoghan Murphy was responding after it emerged the party’s director of elections in the constituency had issued advice that voters should be advised not to give preferences to either Labour or Fianna Fáil.
Paddy Hayes emailed Fine Gael activists yesterday to say that economist Paul Sommerville was seen as “closest to the party in terms of policy and thinking”.
“We think that it is the FG party’s best interests not to encourage support for either Labour or Fianna Fáil,” Mr Hayes wrote in the message.
“If asked for guidance, please tell voters to give their next preference, after voting the FG ticket, to Paul Sommerville.”
Mr Murphy was questioned about the email on Newstalk's Breakfast programme today.
Asked about instruction that canvassers should tell voters not to transfer to Labour or Fianna Fáil, Mr Murphy first responded: “Fine Gael aren’t saying that.”
But Mr Sommerville, a fellow guest on the programme, raised the issue of the email, Mr Murphy said it had not come “from Fine Gael necessarily” but from the director of elections.
Without naming Mr Hayes, the Fine Gael candidate said: “It was a bad judgment call. He shouldn’t have sent it.”
Asked if he disagreed with his director of elections, he said: “Yes I do. Our campaign team ignored that.”
Mr Murphy said his team was going out to get votes for himself and for his running mate Lucinda Creighton. After that, they were asking people to continue their preferences all the way down the ballot paper for the person they thought would best represent the area.
“Our director of elections sent an email…that he shouldn’t have sent. It was a bad judgment call. He sent it out. He has an opinion. My team received it and we ignored it.”
Mr Murphy said reaction on the doorsteps was “very positive”. “They are supporting Fine Gael and they are supporting Labour as well.”
Questioned on perceptions of party leader Enda Kenny, Mr Murphy said: “I have met people who maybe wouldn’t like Enda but I wouldn’t describe him as a liability at all.”
He said people had seen the party leader perform well during the election campaign and had “got a different idea of him”. People were “well-disposed” towards Mr Kenny, he said.