GREEN PARTY:The Green Party yesterday said that a vote for the party would result in more jobs and a better quality of life.
In its final press conference before Friday’s elections, party leader John Gormley said that its policies were aimed at protecting the economy and the environment at European, local and national levels.
“Whatever level we are looking at, green policies have worked. They have created green jobs and protected the environment,” he said.
The press conference was attended by the party’s two European candidates, Dan Boyle and Déirdre de Búrca, as well as many of its local candidates in Dublin.
Mr Gormley said that a vote for the Greens would help deliver green jobs and a better quality of life.
The conference was interrupted by peace activist Ed Horgan, who said he was resigning from the Green Party as it had abandoned its core principles.
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams (right) has made an eve-of-poll call for people to turn “anger into action” by voting for his party.
Mr Adams said the only way for the electorate to get rid of the Fianna Fáil-led Government was to vote for Sinn Féin.
Speaking at the partys last press conference before the poll, Mr Adams said there was clearly a lot of anger among the electorate. Calling on people to make sure they used their vote, he said the “real say” now was with the people tomorrow.
He declined to say how Sinn Féin voters should direct their preferences, other than to give preferences to candidates who shared his partys broad republican outlook.
Libertas
Libertas leader Declan Ganley moved yesterday to smooth over a dispute with the Simon Wiesenthal Centre by pledging to work with the Los Angeles-based Jewish human rights organisation “to defend against and actively fight racism and anti-Semitism within the European
Parliament and other European Institutions”.
“Libertas is dedicated to ensuring that hatred and intolerance are challenged and defeated wherever such cancers exist,” Mr Ganley said in response to a statement last Monday from the centre calling for an investigation into the financing of Libertas and certain other organisations.
Speaking to the media in Dublin yesterday at the end of her election campaign, Caroline Simons said she expected to be campaigning against the Lisbon Treaty again in the autumn if the government failed to secure adequate guarantees on key issues from Brussels.
Others
Socialist Party candidate in the Dublin European constituency Joe Higgins claimed last night that his campaign was “best-placed” to oust sitting Fianna Fáil MEP Eoin Ryan.
“It would be a historic defeat for Fianna Fáil if we were to defeat them in Dublin, a defeat that is richly merited for it was their policies which caused the economic disaster.”
Independent MEP for Ireland South Kathy Sinnott revealed figures for her expenditure in the campaign. With a spending limit for candidates of €230,000, Ms Sinnott said he had spent €49,389.94 to date. “In comparison, most Euro campaigns cost in the region of €100,000-230,000,” she said.
Independent candidate in Ireland North-West Fiachra Ó Luain said: “If people are determined to vote against Fianna Fáil and remain unimpressed by Fine Gael, I urge them to vote Independent instead of Libertas. I beg of people, do not vote for Declan Ganley.”