Sinn Féin Dublin South West TD, Seán Crowe, has raised serious concerns around the daft decision to use Holy Rosary School in Ballycragh, Tallaght, as a polling station for the local and European elections last Friday.

Crowe said that the grounds of the Holy Rosary School are currently a building site and many physically impaired citizens were unable to make the distance from the road to the polling station to cast their vote.

Deputy Crowe said:

“I am very unhappy about the use of Holy Rosary School as a polling station last Friday. The grounds of the Holy Rosary School are a building site and it is clear that it was unsuitable to be a polling station, particularly for anyone with a physical impairment.

“On the day and night of the election potential voters were directed by signage through a hedge and then had to follow a gravel footpath for a long distance from the road to the polling station to cast a vote. Additionally there was no lightening from the road to the school to guide anyone walking on the unstable and dangerous surface.

“I know of a number of people who were denied their opportunity to cast their vote because of their physical impairment that would not allow them to travel this haphazard and dangerous route.

“A voter arrived on her electric wheelchair and the signs directed her through a brick arch and to a hedge which she could not get through.

“Another voter from Ballycragh, whose own son was a candidate, was not able to cast her vote because the obstacles and the distance from the road to the ballot boxes.

“I personally informed the Presiding Officer and made staff aware of the difficulties at the polling station.

Crowe continued:

“I raised the issue with the Taoiseach in the Dáil this week and I intend to do so again next week. I have also written to the County Sheriff asking him to formally investigate the decision to use Holy Rosary as a polling station and whether the school was looked at before polling and the site deemed safe to access for people with physical impairment.

“What happened on polling day was degrading and unacceptable, and it didn’t have to happen. Structures need to be put in place to make sure this never occurs again.

“There was clearly a systems breakdown in this case and an unknown number of citizens were denied their vote.

“It was a daft and irresponsible decision to situate the polling station at this location. The person responsible should be made accountable and measures need to be taken to ensure this doesn’t happen again.”

ENDS