Over €163k spent by Longford/Westmeath election candidates

Over €163,000 was spent by candidates in the Longford/Westmeath constituency, according to recent figures. The biggest spender in Longford/Westmeath in the February general election was outgoing Dáil Deputy Mary O'Rourke, who spent €22,763.40 - but failed to get re-elected. The second highest spender was also from Fianna Fáil, Deputy Robert Troy, who was elected without reaching the quota, as was the third highest spender, Fine Gael's Nicky McFadden. The lowest-spending candidate who ran in the constituency was the Green Party's Siobhan Kinahan, who spent just €1,145.77. Fianna Fáil's total expenditure for its three candidates amounted to €54,181.48; Fine Gael's total amounted to €47,550.96; and Labour's expenditure on its two candidates added up to €23,281.80. In the order in which they were elected, the expenditure of the four TDs elected for the area were Willie Penrose - €12,396.48; James Bannon - €13,619.54; Nicky McFadden, €18.517.43; and Robert Troy, €19,050.91. Of the main unsuccessful candidates, Peter Kelly (FF) spent €16,367.40; Peter Burke (FG) spent €15,413.99 and Kevin "Boxer" Moran (Ind) spent €15,154.91. Meanwhile in the Roscommon/South Leitrim constituency, over €123,500 was spent by the ten candidates. The highest spender in the Roscommon/South Leitrim constituency was Fianna Fáil Ivan Connaughton (€17,443.24) followed by then Fine Gael candidate Denis Naughten (€16,333.10) and Labour's John Kelly (€16.303.32). Both Connaughton and Kelly were unsuccessful. Independent TD Luke 'Ming' Flanagan spent €15,818.12 while Fianna Fáil Gerry Kilraine recorded expenditure of €15,633.47. Three of the unsuccessful candidates, Roscommon Hospital Action Committee candidate John McDermott, Sinn Féin candidate Martin Kenny and Labour's John Kelly all recorded donations. John Kelly received donations of €3,173.83, John McDermott €300 and Martin Kenny €300. Roscommon/South Leitrim candidate independent Sean Kearns was among 23 people referred to the Gardai for failing to comply with the statutory requirements. The commission, in the 23 cases, said this related to failure to return donation statements, statutory declarations or election expense statements. The document, released just last Thursday, also lists the donations made to candidates who ran in the election - but just those who were unsuccessful. Only one Westmeath candidate received a donation, Kevin "Boxer" Moran, who received donations totalling €6,000. The figures show that nationally, despite the fall in popularity of Fianna Fáil, donations to its unsuccessful candidates amounted to €82,095.11. However, that figure represented just 91 donations. Independent candidates who failed to get elected received, between them, €86.699.58 - a figure made up of 509 separate donations. Successful candidates do not, at this stage, have to disclose any donations. The commission also expressed concern at the "front-loading" of campaign expenditure in the weeks preceding the official election period. The spending limits and disclosure requirements relate to the period between the date of the dissolution of the Dáil and the election. Successful candidates or those who gained one quarter of the quota at any stage during the count are entitled to have some of their expenses reimbursed by the State. The maximum amount allowed to be reimbursed is €8,700.