A number of campaign posters belonging to two Sinn Fein candidates in the Portlaoise area have been stolen and vandalised.
Cllr Caroline Dwane Stanley and her party colleague Maria McCormack have reported the incidents this morning.
Cllr Dwane-Stanley confirmed that hers have been stolen or damaged in The Rock and surrounding areas.
As well as this, fellow Sinn Féin campaigner Maria McCormack had her campaign posters tampered with in Sheffield Cross.
McCormack’s posters were ‘torn apart and thrown down a drain’ along with dual posters featuring the two Sinn Féin campaigners for the Portlaoise Municipal district.
A representative for Ms McCormack said that around 30 of her posters have gone missing.
One hundred ‘A0’ weather resistant campaign posters can cost around €1,000.
It is a criminal offence to remove, destroy or tamper with election canvases.
Cllr Caroline Dwane-Stanley said: “It should be an even playing field. What they’re doing is illegal”.
Via a post on her Facebook page, Dwane-Stanley asked anyone with information or photographs regarding her stolen canvases to contact her directly.
She said: “I strongly urge anyone who sees anyone tampering with posters to get the registration number of the vehicle and contact Garda.”
The local and European elections will take place on June 7 2024.
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