Verona goes GoFundMe route

INDEPENDENT candidate for Wexford Verona Murphy has started a fundraising campaign through a popular website, and is already halfway towards her target of €5,000.

Without the backing of a major party, the costs involved in running for election can be quite high and Ms Murphy is evidently hoping to offset some of this cost by asking her supporters to donate via a GoFundMe page.

Set up on Wednesday, the fundraising page has already raised a total of €2,735 of a set target of €5,000, the largest donation coming in at €500.

On the fundraising page, Ms Murphy states: ‘I am entering public life and standing for County Wexford in the next elections. I hope to engage on a political and civic level with the community county wide over the coming months. I will need your support and assistance to get elected and represent Wexford as a legislator in Dáil Eireann.’

The Ramsgrange native then further sets out her stall before urging the people of the constituency to stay in touch through social media.

The page also notes that, in order to comply with Standards in Public Office (SIPO) guidelines, anonymous donations over €100 cannot be accepted, donations of more than €600 must be declared to SIPO and the maximum donation allowed in a calendar year is €1,000.

Having raised over half her target in just five days, it appears Ms Murphy’s fundraiser is well on track as she seeks to become the first female TD since Avril Doyle to be elected to Dáil Eireann in the Wexford constituency.