Yes! We’ve raised €287,000 already for our campaign

posters funding drive hit target

A CROWDFUNDING page set up to support the Yes campaign in the abortion referendum had raised more than €287,000 by last night.

It reached that total thanks to the generosity of thousands of people, after the plea went live at at 8.30am yesterday.

The money will be used to get Yes campaign posters hung up around the country,

Some people donated as much as €2,500 in one go.

A message on the page said: “You’ve seen the Vote No posters. You’ve heard their misleading ‘facts’ and scaremongering. Now is the time for you to have your say.

“The referendum is just over six weeks away.

“This morning, we launched a crowdfund campaign for €400,000 so that we could get 25,000 Yes posters up around the country. We need to raise the cash this week to fight for Yes: to print and put up 10,000 posters all across Ireland – to get people talking and to make the case for a caring Yes vote everywhere.

“Give what you can – every conversation, every poster, and every single euro matters.”

Meanwhile, Amnesty International launched its campaign for a Yes vote to repeal the Eighth Amendment yesterday. The “It’s Time To Talk” initiative was announced with Health Minister Simon Harris and Independent Senator Lynn Ruane, who was a member of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Eighth Amendment.

They joined Amnesty International Ireland Executive Director Colm O’gorman to chat with traders on Dublin’s Moore Street.

Minister Harris said: “I believe Ireland is a country that wants to treat women with respect and compassion, and once people really engage with the issues they’ll see a ‘Yes’ vote is the only way to do that.”

Mr O’gorman added: “It has taken 35 years, seven governments, a European Court ruling, the tragic death of Savita Halappanavar and the suffering of countless other women and girls to get us to this referendum.

“Now is the time to decide what kind of a country we want Ireland to be.”