The Ditch has reported that in 2000, Fianna Fáil’s Dublin Central by-election candidate John Stephens falsely claimed in a housing needs form as part of a planning permission application to build a second house Galway that his Dublin home was up for sale.
The Ditch also reported that Stephens declared the Galway house as “farmland” in his Dublin City Council ethics declaration in 2024 and he failed to make a legally required declaration of farming income in his Council ethics declarations.
People Before Profit Dublin Central by-election candidate Eoghan Ó Ceannabháin said:
“In the most Fianna Fáil moment of the by-election campaign so far, it has been revealed that John Stephens, Fianna Fáil’s candidate in the Dublin Central by-election, made false claims on a planning application and failed to declare his financial interests on ethics declarations.
“Fianna Fáil Councillors and TDs have a well-established track record of dodgy property dealings and failures to declare financial interests, and John Stephens is no exception. This is what Fianna Fáil has always been and will always be.
“The people of Dublin Central figured Fianna Fáil out a long time ago and it's almost 20 years since they won a Dáil seat in this constituency. I have no doubt voters here will keep Dublin Central a Fianna Fáil-free zone on 22nd May and for a long time to come.
“Support for Fianna Fáil/Fine Gael is at the lowest recorded level in the history of the state. The left has a great opportunity to ensure FF/FG are hit with another defeat at the by-election by agreeing a formal vote left, transfer left transfer pact. People Before Profit have made this call repeatedly and it's not too late to reach agreement for the by-election.”