I'm disgusted that 21 of the candidates for the NUI Constituency in the Seanad have squandered nearly €1,000,000 of taxpayers' money to send leaflets that almost no-one reads. The figures break down like this:
- Each flyer (Litir um Thoghchan) costs the taxpayer 48c to send.
- There is a discount, I presume because it is bulk posting, on standard postage of 55c.
- There are 97,734 voters on the NUI register.
- Each Candidate who has sent out electoral material to the register of voters has cost the taxpayer €46,912.32.
- 21 out of 27 candidates in the NUI constiuency have done this, costing the taxpayer a total of €985,158.72
I chose not to send out a postal flyer as I don’t believe that it is an effective way to canvass people in the modern age. I am canvassing through social and traditional media. People can find out what I stand for by looking up www.facebook.com/votelangan2011
Mail shots are a colossal waste of resources for the taxpayer and of my own funds as well, since the candidate pays for the printing. My own experience over the years, is that this type of election material ends up directly in the recycling bin. I believe that one should campaign as one means to continue, aware that there are public resources available to help people but they should not be wasted in these difficult times. There is a need for new thinking now; we need to be able to cut our cloth according to our measure.
Mick Langan is a candidate for Seanad Éireann in 2011 on the National University of Ireland panel.
Perhaps it is time for an electronic register of electors, where a voters e-mail address can be held by a central authority, and information can be sent out. The universities panels would have been ideal for this.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, best of luck. I have no vote in the NUI constituency.