Republican News · Thursday 17 January 2002

Crowe challenges business donors to political parties

The prospective Sinn Féin TD for Dublin South-West has challenged business donors to switch their money from political parties to non-party publicity campaigns and help reverse falling turn-outs at election time.

South Dublin County Councillor Seán Crowe said: "Big businesses tell us that donations to parties are not about buying favours from politicians. If that's true, then surely switching their money to encourage more people to vote and get involved in decision making in civic society is one way of proving it."

The Sinn Féin councillor said the euro currency information campaign has been an obvious success for its organisers and something similar should

be done to boost voter turn-out.

Crowe added that corporate donations could be used to fund media advertising campaigns and initiatives such as the community-based, non-party 'Active Citizenship Programme' run by the Vincentian Partnership for Social Justice.