Count centre venue in Kilkenny heavily criticised 

THE count centre for the Carlow Kilkenny constituency in Loreto Secondary School in Kilkenny city came in for sharp and consistent criticism throughout the weekend.

Based in the school’s gym, the centre was criticised for being too small, having poor parking and wheelchair accessibility, having no food or refreshments, for being too cold on the first day and for having insufficient or substandard seating.

Chief executive of Carlow County Council Cóilín O’Reilly had already written to the returning officer prior to the count to request that the count centres be rotated between counties Carlow and Kilkenny at general elections after the issue was raised by cllr Fergal Browne at the November county council meeting.

“Why is the count always held in Co Kilkenny? Why can’t it take place in Co Carlow on a rotation basis? Why did they use this school? It’s impractical,” cllr Browne told ***The Nationalist*** at the weekend.

Throughout the long days and nights on Saturday and Sunday, security men stood at the entrance doors checking for passes that were issued to the candidates, councillors and members of the press.

Members of the public were turned away because they didn’t have a ticket, including one elderly man who was accompanied by his daughter.

“I’ve been coming to election counts since 1965. They should be encouraging people to come in and see what happens. This is part of our democracy. It’s no wonder people are getting detached from politics,” said the man, who did not want to be named.

Insufficient parking spaces caused considerable problems for those with mobility issues. One well-known Carlow figure who is wheelchair bound wasn’t allowed to park in a disabled parking space right outside the front door of the gym.

“We were told that we couldn’t park in the wheelchair spot, even though my father has a wheelchair access permit. They told me that it wasn’t a wheelchair parking space during the count, which was ridiculous. I think it’s really bad form, I’ve never come across the like of it before,” said the man’s son.

With capacity in the gym being only 360, each candidate received ten ticket passes, while councillors got two each. This effectively meant that candidates couldn’t bring all of the family or team members, while there was also a noticeable absence of young people. For those who did secure a pass, there was very little seating and the seating that was there consisted of gym benches, which were unsuitable for people who could have been at the count centre for up to 18 hours.

“It’s brutal,” said Peter ‘Chap’ Cleere, who secured a Dáil seat in the early hours of Monday morning. “We only got ten passes as candidates and that included one for myself and the tally people. My own mother and father were turned away. This is a fantastic school, but it’s not fit for purpose as a count centre.” The fact that there was no canteen or shop to buy hot drinks, food or snacks and only three toilets for the entire crowd was also criticised, especially by those who spent the entire weekend there, whether as candidates, supporters, family members or those who were working there, including members of the press.

Meanwhile, the press centre was located in an upstairs room, which wasn’t wheelchair accessible, while it was also overcrowded as local and national media jostled for space as they broadcast or filed their news reports. And late on Saturday night, when the first count was finally called, journalists were forced to file their stories from their cars as they were asked to leave because the building was closing for the night.

The issue about the venue was to be raised at yesterday’s (Monday) county counc