logo
The Indo Daily: Election fraudster linked to Healy-Rae family firm

The Indo Daily: Election fraudster linked to Healy-Rae family firm

This unusual case of voter fraud first played out in a district court in Kenmare.
But what initially seemed like a local matter has now become a national story, with Fine Gael senator Mike Kennelly using his speaking time in Leinster House to call for a thorough investigation.
'We had voter impersonation at Kenmare polling station at the local and European elections in June 2024, caught on CCTV… I called for a thorough investigation into the facts of the incident last week, and we still need clarity about how this was quietly hushed up. It has made a mockery of our democracy.'
But how did the man pull off the voting fraud in the first place? Who put him up to it? How often does this kind of thing happen in Ireland, and what is his connection to the Kerry political dynasty of the Healy-Raes?
Today, Tabitha Monahan is joined on The Indo Daily by Kerryman journalist Sinead Kelleher, and by Ireland Editor at the Irish Independent Fionnán Sheahan, to look at the details of this unusual case and to ask how one vote could go from a local court to the national parliament.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Iran and Europe begin fresh nuclear talks in Turkey with questions over future UN sanctions
Iran and Europe begin fresh nuclear talks in Turkey with questions over future UN sanctions

RTÉ News​

time10 minutes ago

  • RTÉ News​

Iran and Europe begin fresh nuclear talks in Turkey with questions over future UN sanctions

Iran has pushed back on suggestions of extending a UN resolution that ratifies a 2015 nuclear deal as it began the first face-to-face talks with Western powers since Israel and the US bombed it last month. Delegations from Iran, the European Union and the so-called E3 group of France, Britain and Germany, arrived for talks at the Iranian consulate in Istanbul. The European countries, along with China and Russia, are the remaining parties to a 2015 deal - from which the US withdrew in 2018 - that lifted sanctions on Iran in return for restrictions on its nuclear programme. A deadline of 18 October is fast approaching when the resolution governing that deal expires. At that point, all UN sanctions on Iran will be lifted unless a "snapback" mechanism is triggered at least 30 days before. This would automatically reimpose those sanctions, which target sectors from hydrocarbons to banking and defence. To give time for this to happen, the E3 have set a deadline of the end of August to revive diplomacy. Diplomats say they want Iran to take concrete steps to convince them to extend the deadline by up to six months. Iran would need to make commitments on key issues including eventual talks with Washington, full cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, and accounting for 400kg (880 pounds) of near-weapons grade highly enriched uranium, whose whereabouts are unknown since last month's strikes. Minutes before the talks began, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei told the state news agency IRNA that Iran considered talk of extending UN Security Council Resolution 2231 to be "meaningless and baseless". The United States held five rounds of talks with Iran prior to its airstrikes in June, which US President Donald Trump said had "obliterated" a programme that Washington and its ally Israel say is aimed at acquiring a nuclear bomb. However, NBC News has cited current and former US officials as saying a subsequent US assessment found the strikes destroyed most of one of three targeted Iranian nuclear sites, but that the other two were not as badly damaged. Iran denies seeking a nuclear weapon.

Court to decide whether former dictator Assad can be stripped of immunity
Court to decide whether former dictator Assad can be stripped of immunity

Irish Examiner

time2 hours ago

  • Irish Examiner

Court to decide whether former dictator Assad can be stripped of immunity

France's highest court is ruling on Friday on whether it can strip the head of state immunity of Bashar Assad, the former leader of Syria now in exile in Russia, because of the brutality of the evidence in accusations against him collected by Syrian activists and European prosecutors. If the judges at the Cour de Cassation lift Assad's immunity, it could pave the way for his trial in absentia over the use of chemical weapons in Ghouta in 2013 and Douma in 2018, and set a precedent to allow the prosecution of other government leaders linked to atrocities, human rights activists and lawyers say. Assad has retained no lawyers for these charges and has denied he was behind the chemical attacks. A ruling against Assad would be 'a huge victory for the victims', said Mazen Darwish, president of the Syrian Centre for Media which collected evidence of war crimes. 500,000 The number of people believed to have died in Syria's 13-year civil war 'It's not only about Syrians, this will open the door for the victims from any country and this will be the first time that a domestic investigative judge has the right to issue an arrest warrant for a president during his rule.' He said the ruling could enable his group to legally go after regime members, like launching a money laundering case against former Syrian central bank governor and minister of economy, Adib Mayaleh, whose lawyers have argued he had immunity under international law. For over 50 years, Syria was ruled by Hafez Assad and then his son, Bashar. During the Arab Spring, rebellion broke out against their tyrannical rule in 2011 across the country of 23 million, igniting a brutal 13-year civil war that killed more than half a million people, according to the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights. Millions more fled to Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and Europe. The Assad dynasty manipulated sectarian tensions to stay in power, a legacy driving renewed violence in Syria against minority groups despite promises that the country's new leaders will carve out a political future for Syria that includes and represents all its communities. The ruling stripping Assad's immunity could set a 'significant precedent' that 'could really set the stage for potentially for other cases in national jurisdictions that strike down immunities,' said Mariana Pena, a human rights lawyer at the Open Society Justice Initiative, which helped bring the case to court. As the International Criminal Court has issued arrests warrants for leaders accused of atrocities — like Vladimir Putin in Ukraine, Benjamin Netanyahu in Gaza, and Rodrigo Duterte in the Philippines — the French judges' ruling could empower the legal framework to prosecute not just deposed and exiled leaders but those currently in power. The Syrian government denied in 2013 that it was behind the Ghouta attack, an accusation the opposition rejected as Assad's forces were the only side in the brutal civil war to possess sarin. The United States subsequently threatened military retaliation, but Washington settled for a deal with Moscow for Assad to give up his chemical weapons' stockpile.

Diplomats to meet in Turkey to discuss Iran's nuclear programme
Diplomats to meet in Turkey to discuss Iran's nuclear programme

Irish Examiner

time2 hours ago

  • Irish Examiner

Diplomats to meet in Turkey to discuss Iran's nuclear programme

Iranian and European diplomats are set to meet in Istanbul on Friday to embark on the latest drive to unpick the deadlock over Tehran's nuclear programme. Representatives from the UK, France and Germany, known as the E3 nations, will gather at the Iranian consulate building for the first talks since Iran's 12-day war with Israel in June, which involved US bombers striking nuclear-related facilities. The talks are centred on the possibility of reimposing sanctions on Iran that were lifted in 2015 in exchange for Iran accepting restrictions and monitoring of its nuclear programme. The return of sanctions, known as a 'snapback' mechanism, 'remains on the table', according to a European diplomat speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the talks. Donald Trump pulled the US out of the 2015 deal to lift sanctions on Iran (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP) 'A possible delay in triggering snapback has been floated to the Iranians on the condition that there is credible diplomatic engagement by Iran, that they resume full co-operation with the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency), and that they address concerns about their highly-enriched uranium stockpile,' the diplomat said. European leaders have said sanctions will resume by the end of August if there is no progress on containing Iran's nuclear programme. Tehran, meanwhile, has said the US, which withdrew from the 2015 deal during President Donald Trump 's first term, needs to rebuild faith in its role in negotiations. Deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi said Iran's engagement was dependent on 'several key principles' that included 'rebuilding Iran's trust – as Iran has absolutely no trust in the United States'. In a social media post on Thursday, he also said the talks should not be used 'as a platform for hidden agendas such as military action2. Mr Gharibabadi insisted that Iran's right to enrich uranium 'in line with its legitimate needs' be respected and sanctions removed. Iran has repeatedly threatened to leave the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, which commits it to refrain from developing nuclear weapons, if sanctions return. Friday's talks will be held at the deputy ministerial level, with Iran sending deputy foreign minister Majid Takht-e Ravanchi. A similar meeting was held in Istanbul in May. The identity of the E3 representatives were not immediately clear but the European Union's deputy foreign policy commissioner is expected to attend.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store