A BUSINESS lunch organised on behalf of Fianna Fáil general election candidate Christopher O’Sullivan TD and attended by the Tánaiste Micheál Martin, was a fundraiser for his general election campaign.
With tickets priced at €100 and an estimated 70 people in attendance, the lunch at Dunmore House Hotel in Clonakilty, was organised to discuss ‘support for our SME sector’.
Deputy O’Sullivan outlined what supports are needed to bolster small and medium enterprises in West Cork, as did his guest speaker, the Tánaiste.
The president of Network Ireland West Cork, Sandra Maybury, was also invited to be a guest speaker at the event. And she addressed how the network has been instrumental in helping women to set up and develop their own small and medium enterprises.
It is understood the fundraiser was the first of its kind in the constituency of Cork South West, but that was not verified by the TD. Deputy O’Sullivan did, however, say that such fundraisers are standard practice nationally.
The deputy said that, at the event, guests provided a contribution to cover the cost of the lunch and to partially offset the costs of a general election campaign such as posters, literature, media.
Business breakfasts or lunches are a traditional means of networking, engaging constituents and fundraising for campaigns across Ireland alongside newer forms of online ‘gofundme-type’ campaigns, he said.
