Presidential Election.

It would have been “spun”- sure. But the timelines don’t lie- 16 years of ignoring a personal debt? I know he wasn’t pursued for 16 years- I’m assuming the tenant dropped the case and decided not to pursue through the courts likely for financial reasons after their solicitor letters failed to get a response- (all my hypothesis by the way based on current knowledge which is scant ) but it still would have looked terrible - he would have been a major embarrassment to FF throughout the election and I reckon he still would have withdrawn

Fascinating election, has it ever happened before where there were just two candidates in the race?

No time for dodgy landlords like most people in the country, but have a question about the process of counting, if someone could explain please.

If JG name is still on the ballot paper, and people still gave him a vote even though he’s withdrawn (people can do very strange things 😫), what happens to those votes? Are they all ignored or are second and third preferences counted?

“Like the migration issue, many people are keeping quiet as they'll be labelled far right, racists, 1950s catholic etc..”

It will be interesting to see if this cohort will come out and vote on the day- given they’re likely an older demographic in the main, my view is they will - and they’re badly needed by HH - will be interesting to see if she dips her toes into this area or will she keep playing it safe and stick to the tea party and cake sale image she’s created

Imagine getting caught by a bank error and you over pay 3,300 euro. A not insignificant sum of cash. You contact your land lord and request reimbursement for money owed. You get ignored. You're peeved understandably. You contact them again. And again. And again. And again. You get ignored each time. You then give it up, not worth the stress or bother. In the intervening time the land lord never thinks that you're owed that money and seeks to square it away. Even out of a sense of right and wrong. You got shafted but there's nothing you can do since you can't get a response. Imagine it requiring the land lord to not only announce a presidential bid but secure a candidacy for President for you to then bring it up to finally get repaid and, even now, you're still presumably waiting to get it back. In all that time he couldn't square away a small debt and, since reputation is everything, it has now deservedly cost him a tilt at being President for simply being a stingy sh*t to a former tenant.

Now I'd imagine Gavin was asked if there was anything like this that might trip up his campaign but if he never mentioned this then presumably he didn't think shafting someone was a problem.

I'm fairly sure it will be counted as if he were still in the race since he officially entered. An interesting hypothetical - what if all the spoil your vote people voted for him and he won? Assuming he wouldn't accept, what would happen then?

I read Chambers response about their due diligence and I'm still amazed that even before the tenant contacted them the matter of the property in question remaining unregistered for years after it should have been. It makes me wonder what FF due diligence is.

It is hugely ironic that their political outsider nomination has reignited the collective trauma of those property bubble years that Fianna Fail have been trying to forget.

The fact that there wasn't one obvious statesperson in waiting in their ranks says more about FFs lack of depth.

Having had to emigrate as a direct result of their recession I am enjoying watching them step on their own landmine.

'dogmatic'?

Funny what people see. I saw Humphreys and Gavin wagging the finger at COnnolly scolding her for her calm and thought out beliefs.
I think the public saw that clearly in the debate too.

Ok francie,should have said calm but dogmatic,