Richard O'Donoghue (Limerick County, Independent Ireland Party)

I have some great friends with me today. I have been involved in Greybridge classic club for the past 15 years. The youngest member, Louise Crowley, is in the Gallery and she is the Limerick IFA chairperson - the youngest chairperson in the organisation. She has been a member of the club since it started and is also its secretary. The Macra na Feirme president and the outgoing president, Elaine Houlihan, are here as well.

These people have been working around the area raising money for charities and people in need. Cliona's Foundation is one of the main beneficiaries of the Greybridge classic club. A total of €300,000 has been raised since its beginnings. We have a Christmas light run on 30 December in Limerick to raise money for vulnerable people, including Cliona's Foundation and Milford hospice. No matter who we ask when we go around the county, and all vintage clubs across the country are doing it, even if people do not have a few bob themselves, they come up with it and support people who are vulnerable.

We are having a presidential election. I will not mention any names but we have a candidate who has withdrawn from the race. This question is coming from members of the Taoiseach's party who have asked me this so I need to ask him. Is it correct that if that candidate who has withdrawn gets 12.5% of the vote, the Government will be reimbursed for the money it has spent to date and the taxpayers of this country will end up having to pay for that? It will come out of the public purse, which is raised by taxpayers. If he reaches a certain percentage, even though he is not running for the presidency, will the taxpayers of Ireland will pay for the mistake of running him in the first place during a cost-of-living crisis and after a budget that gave nothing back to working people but increased their taxes? This is the question the members of the Taoiseach's party are asking. They want to know whether it will be refunded for putting up a ghost candidate during a cost-of-living crisis.

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