Gerard P. Craughwell Condemns Violence, Slams 'Spoil the Vote' Push
Gerard P. Craughwell condemned violent disturbances at City West and criticised calls to ‘spoil the vote’ in a parliamentary speech. He praised Commissioner Justin Kelly for attending on the ground, described rockets being fired and Garda vehicles on fire, and called calls to spoil ballots anti-democratic and irresponsible.
He said he had intended to speak on housing but would defer those remarks to the 4th of November.
He congratulated Commissioner Justin Kelly for turning up at City West and supporting "his people on the ground."
He described what he called a "despicable act of thuggery," reporting people firing rockets and Garda vehicles on fire as part of the disturbances.
He warned that comments made in this House and the other House are frequently misused and interpreted on social media, and suggested such misuse can drive the sort of violence witnessed at City West.
He criticised members he called "the Democrats in this House" for advocating that voters spoil ballots. He argued that writing on the bottom of a ballot is ineffective, that spoiled or altered ballots are effectively discarded, and called the campaign an "affront to the democracy" he lives in and "totally and utterly irresponsible." He also stated he had given Declan Ganley his assurance of support, that Ganley chose not to run, and that Ganley had to admit this on TV3 and Newstalk.
Deferred housing remarks
He said he had intended to speak on housing but would defer those remarks to the 4th of November.
Praise for Commissioner at City West
He congratulated Commissioner Justin Kelly for turning up at City West and supporting "his people on the ground."
Description of violence at City West
He described what he called a "despicable act of thuggery," reporting people firing rockets and Garda vehicles on fire as part of the disturbances.
Concerns about parliamentary comments and social media
He warned that comments made in this House and the other House are frequently misused and interpreted on social media, and suggested such misuse can drive the sort of violence witnessed at City West.
Opposition to the 'Spoil the Vote' campaign
He criticised members he called "the Democrats in this House" for advocating that voters spoil ballots. He argued that writing on the bottom of a ballot is ineffective, that spoiled or altered ballots are effectively discarded, and called the campaign an "affront to the democracy" he lives in and "totally and utterly irresponsible." He also stated he had given Declan Ganley his assurance of support, that Ganley chose not to run, and that Ganley had to admit this on TV3 and Newstalk.
We publish thousands of recordings to make Irish politics transparent and resistant to manipulation. Spotted an error? Report it — together we are building a reliable archive of Irish politics.
Other speeches
Tego samego dnia All speeches from this day →
Richard O'Donoghue
Richard O'Donoghue Presses Taoiseach on 'Ghost Candidate' Cost
Rose Conway-Walsh
Rose Conway-Walsh: Demands Emergency Action After 70% Mackerel Cut
Danny Healy-Rae
Danny Healy-Rae slams rushed biomethane planning process
Sharon Keogan
Sharon Keogan defends spoiling ballots as democratic right
Martin Daly
Martin Daly urges fast-track for Banlasló's Skil Crínefa School
Danny Healy-Rae
Danny Healy-Rae Urges Fair Play for Fishermen, Warns of Lost Quotas
Transcript
I had intended to speak on housing, but I will defer that to the 4th of November. Because two things, first and foremost, I want to congratulate Commissioner Justin Kelly for turning up at City West last night, supporting his people on the ground. What we saw was a despicable act of thuggery, the likes of which I thought we would never see in this country again. People firing rockets as members of the Garda vehicles on fire, etc. But in speaking about that, I got to speak about what takes place in this House and the other House. Comments made for whatever purpose are frequently misused and interpreted on social media to drive the sort of thing we saw last night. Now today we heard about the Spoil the Vote campaign. And we heard the Democrats in this House speaking about spoiling your vote and writing whatever you want on the bottom of the vote, which is the American style of things. Anybody at a count will tell you nobody is going to read what's written on the bottom of the ballot paper. It either has a 1-2-3 on it or it has nothing. And they will all be thrown into the same pile of rubbish and nothing will be succeeded by it. People like me were accused of not supporting a candidate. I gave Declan Ganley my assurance that I would support him. Because he asked me in plenty of time. He chose not to run, that's his problem. But to say that we wouldn't support people is a factual lie. And he had to admit that on TV3, he had to admit it on Newstalk, that in fact he had an undertaking from me. Now for Democrats to come in here and advocate for people to spoil the vote, that to me is an affront to the democracy that I live in. Everyone in this House knows how difficult it is to go out on the hustings and to get votes and to be advocating that we would spoil votes for me is anti-democratic and totally and utterly irresponsible.