Senator Joan Freeman, one of the six candidates gunning for presidency in the Republic of Ireland, has borrowed a total of 130,000 euros, approximately N54 million, to project her campaign.
TheNewsGuru (TNG) reports the 60-year-old independent politician borrowed the sum from her two businessmen friends for her campaign to contest the 2018 presidential election scheduled on October 26, according to a local media report.
Freeman said she would return the borrowed money in five years at an interest rate of 9 percent, the report stated.
The amount of the money borrowed by Freeman is just part of the 250,000-euro funds she intends to spend on the coming presidential election. The remaining part of the money will come through donations and public fundraising, she said.
Freeman revealed the above-mentioned information in a questionnaire published by the local media RTE on Sunday. The questionnaire was also sent to other five presidential candidates.
The questions asked from these candidates include how much they would each spend on their presidential campaigns, a breakdown of such spendings and the sources of the funds.
Regarding the total expenditures on the presidential election, incumbent Irish President Michael D. Higgins, who is going to compete for his second term of presidency, said that he expected to spend 394,000 euros, a figure temporarily the highest among the candidates who have revealed their funding plans for the campaign, followed by Gavin Duffy, a businessman (300,000 euros), and Liadh Ni Riada, a candidate fielded by the Irish third largest political party Sinn Fein (250,000 euros to 300,000 euros). Riada’s planned spending is 50,000 euros higher than Freeman’s budget.
The other two candidates, Peter Casey and Sean Gallagher, both from business circles, did not disclose their planned expenditures for their presidential election campaigns. But both of them said that they would not spend more than 750,000 euros, a ceiling ruled by Irish laws for presidential campaign spending.
As for the breakdown of their spendings, President Higgins gave a most detailed report which include 130,000 euros on paid advertising, 50,000 euros on disseminating leaflets around the country, 50,000 euros on supporting key events, 40,000 euros on social media.
Casey said that he would spend at least 30,000 euros on wages for his campaign team, 25,000 euros on advertising, 10,000 euros on social media and another 25,000 euros on other miscellaneous costs.
Riada said that she expected to spend at least 90,000 euros on posters.
The other three candidates, Freeman, Duffy and Gallagher, did not give a specific breakdown of their anticipated spendings, but they all said they would not spend on posters, a common practice employed in local political campaigns.
Answering the question as where their campaign funds would come from, President Higgins said that he would spend 110,000 euros of his own savings on the campaign while the rest of the money would primarily come from small individual donations.The three candidates from business circles said they would use all or part of their personal money for their campaign activities.
Riada said that her party Sinn Fein will borrow a bank loan of 200,000 euros for her campaign with the rest to be balanced by donations.
Nearly all the candidates said that they would not accept corporate donations for their campaign funds, which is very controversial in local politics.
Tag: Ireland
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Senator borrows 130,000 euros for presidential election, to payback in 5 yrs at 9% interest rate
Joan Freeman. Photo: Gareth Chaney Collins -
[PHOTOS]: RCCG pastor, Tunde Oke gives mother befitting burial
The Regional Pastor,Redeemed Christian Church of God, Ireland, Pastor Tunde Adebayo Oke on Wednesday gave his mother, Vida, a befitting burial in Lagos.
The funeral service of late Mrs. Vida Hope Oke [Nee Borbitey] was held at the Methodist Church of the Trinity in Tinubu, Lagos Island, Lagos today- where, many sympathizers and worshipers of the church gathered together to pray for the repose of the deceased.
Following the final burial rites, the massive guests who attended the event to honor the passage of Pastor Oke’s mother, were received at Harbour Point, Victoria Island, Lagos.
See faces at the event:
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Facebook says to curb foreign Ads related to abortion referendum in Ireland
The Facebook social network said on Tuesday that it would not accept foreign ads related to the referendum of abortions that would be held in Ireland on May 25.
The eighth amendment to the Irish constitution recognises the equal right to life of the mother and the unborn.
It prohibits abortion unless the life of a pregnant woman is at risk.
The May 25, referendum would reveal whether the Irish people want to remove the eighth amendment.
“Facebook will no longer be accepting ads related to the forthcoming referendum if they are from advertisers based outside of Ireland,’’ the network said in a statement.
It pointed out that the company was concerned over foreign attempts to influence the outcome of the referendum.
“Concerns have been raised about organisations and individuals based outside of Ireland trying to influence the outcome of the referendum on the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution of Ireland by buying ads on Facebook.
“This is an issue we have been thinking about for some time,’’ the statement said.
Facebook said the move was in line with the company’s strategy aimed at increasing transparency during political campaigns.
The move is announced amid the scandal around Facebook and the Cambridge Analytica company, which cooperated with the social network.
In April, media reported that the personal information of about 50 million Facebook users had been harvested without their permission by Cambridge Analytica.
The firm reportedly worked for multiple political campaigns and gathered data from social media accounts to develop a mechanism that would predict and influence the behaviour of voters.
In late March, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg apologised for the situation with Cambridge Analytica and admitted that he should not have trusted the firm.
In early April, he said that there were several mistakes that had led to the situation, adding that most of the actions needed to prevent this from happening again had already been taken years ago.
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Ireland’s first black mayor, Adebari pays glowing tribute to late colleague, Jerry Lodge
Nigeria’s Rotimi Adebari has paid glowing tribute to his late colleague, Cllr Jerry Lodge whom they both served as councillors together from 2004 to 2014 in Portlaoise, Ireland.
During his active service years, Adebari made history as the first black mayor in Ireland; a feat that remains unbeaten till today.
Adebari in a special emotion laden statement eulogised the late Lodge describing him as a selfless and refined politician who played politics without bitterness.
In his words: “The father of Laois Council is gone and will be sorely missed! I knew Jerry to be a complete gentleman in my ten years of serving alongside him in Portlaoise Town Council and Laois County Council.
“Jerry never shouted nor raised his voice to get his points across, yet his inputs and contributions to any issue under discussion is valued and taken seriously across party divide.
“Jerry was a community person and to that community he gave his all! He worked tirelessly to ensure a better County in general and Portlaoise in particular.
“He never objected to any motion/idea that will improve the quality of life in Portlaoise and the county irrespective of where the motion is coming from. In my 18 years in Porlaoise, Jerry Lodge and Kathleen O’Brien (both now late) stood out as illustrious son and daughter of the town.
“I remember having coffee with him early this year (January) requesting to know what Portlaoise Municipal Councillors were doing to immortalise Kathleen for all her good work for the town of Portlaoise. We bounced few ideas together and he promised to get back to me in few weeks.
“Unfortunately, his promise of getting back to me in few weeks was never to be, because he has now gone to join his good friend Kathleen whom we were talking about. They will both be missed.
“Among other things, Kathleen and Jerry’s determination to see Portlaoise among the tidiest towns in Ireland is unrivalled! These two guys deserve to be immortalised in Portlaoise for all their work. This is one of the ways we can say to future generations that Kathleen and Jerry lived, worked and died for their town (Portlaoise).
“I sincerely hope the present members of the council will take this on and ensure their efforts and sacrifice for Portlaoise does not go in vain!
“My heartfelt condolence to Patricia (wife) and his sons, Damian and Pauric. May the Lord comfort you and gives you all the needed strength to bear the loss.
“May Jerry’s gentle soul rest in perfect peace!,” Adebari prayed.
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Snow-covered Britain, Ireland gripped by “Beast from the East”
Much of Britain and Ireland was blanketed in snow on Wednesday as freezing Siberian weather dubbed “the Beast from the East”, disrupted the travel plans of thousands.
Hundreds of schools were closed and there were delays on roads, railways and at airports on one of the coldest days Britain has experienced at this time of the year for almost three decades.
Temperatures fell to minus 12 Celsius (10 degrees Farenheit) in some rural areas while Britain’s weather service warned of up to 40 cm of snow in higher areas of Scotland. Ireland could see its worst snow since 1982.
“It is the coldest air we have seen over the UK at this time of the year since around 1991,” Becky Mitchell, a meteorologist at Britain’s Met Office, said by telephone, adding: “It is all tied in with the Beast from the East.”
The cold spell has been caused by a jump in temperatures high over the Arctic, known by meteorologists as sudden stratospheric warming, which has weakened the jet stream that brings warm air in from the Atlantic to Ireland and Britain.
“The Jet Stream weakens and so we tend to get a strong easterly flow of air and that air is really originating right from over in Siberia – so very dry, cold continental air,” Mitchell said.
The unusual weather could continue as Storm Emma, packing more snow and ice, approaches western England from Portugal and France.
Across London, there were severe delays on public transport.
Ireland’s weather service issued a status red warning – the highest level of alert – for five countries in the east, including the capital Dublin after heavy overnight snowfall led to accumulations of 5 to 10 cm.
Total snowfall may reach 25 cm by Thursday, it added, prompting the closure of many schools and universities.
Business advised workers to stay at home with some roads inaccessible and public transport operating a limited service.
Runway operations at Dublin airport were suspended early on Wednesday with a number of flights cancelled and others diverted before the snow was cleared shortly after 0730 GMT to allow services to resume.
Photographs on social media showed bare supermarket shelves on Tuesday as people prepared for the cold snap that the weather service had warned could bring the heaviest snowfall since 1982.
TheNewsGuru publisher experiences the cold snap in Ireland The chief executive of Irish insurer FBD said on Tuesday she expected the snowfall would be an event for the industry, leading to frozen pipes and possible accidents.
The cold not yet as severe as Tropical Storm Ophelia which battered Ireland in October.
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Rugby: South Africa recommended to host 2023 World Cup
South Africa has been recommended to host the 2023 Rugby World Cup ahead of Ireland and France, the tournament’s organising board has announced.
The World Rugby Council will now meet on 15 November in London to vote on the next host.
The board made its recommendation following detailed consideration of the host candidate evaluation report.
Ireland has vowed to “compete to the final whistle”, adding “nothing in the report is insurmountable”.
World Rugby chairman Bill Beaumont said there were “three exceptional bids”.
He added: “It also identified South Africa as a clear leader based on performance against the key criteria, which is supported by the board in the recommendation.”
South Africa said it would deliver a “triple win” should it host the tournament in 2023.
The country’s rugby chief executive, Jurie Roux, said, “A win for the game with record receipts, a win for the fans with an unforgettable tournament in a bucket-list destination and, most importantly, a win for the players with the most athlete-centric event in the tournament’s history,”
Japan will host the next World Cup in 2019.
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Woman pensioner killed by two dogs in Ireland
A female pensioner has reportedly been mauled to death by two dogs at her relative’s home in Galway, Ireland.
A neighbour shot the two dogs as they were mauling the woman who is in her 60s, according to RTE.
A police spokesman said: “Gardaí in Salthill are investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of a woman in her 60’s who was fatally injured at a house in Galway.
“Gardaí and emergency services were alerted to the incident after 3pm this afternoon.
“The woman was pronounced dead at scene and her body has since been removed to University Hospital Galway. An inquest is expected to take place over the coming days.”
One local said: “The woman was very well known and respected. This is a terrible tragedy for the area.”
A post-mortem is due to take place.