Fine Gael has confirmed that it hired a UK-based agency to provide analytical reports on some of its European candidates' social media metrics.
In a statement, the party said the agency has staff members based outside of the UK.
Information on the Fine Gael candidates’ Facebook accounts state that these staff are based in India.
"The contract is fully GDPR compliant. The account and ad management are exclusively managed by our digital team based in Ireland," a Fine Gael spokesperson said.
"This information, like all other parties and candidates, is publicly available on Facebook, is in compliance with the Electoral Acts, the Electoral Commission’s Framework on Political Advertising and will be declared in the party’s election returns to Standards in Public Office Commission," they added.
In 2021, Fine Gael was highly critical of the Sinn Féin Leader and other party members after it emerged their Facebook accounts were being operated by people not just in Ireland but also in Germany and the UK.
At the time, Fine Gael Senator John Cummins said Sinn Féin had "serious questions" to answer about why their social media accounts are being managed by people outside the island of Ireland.
A Sinn Féin spokesperson said tonight that all its social media accounts operate within the electoral laws.
Labour Party Meta advertising account disabled
Meta has now restored Labour's advertising account on Facebook and Instagram.
A party spokesperson says it did not get a reason why the account was down for two hours.
Meta disabled the account without any warning or notice, the party claimed tonight.
"Representatives of the company have been unable to provide any explanation as to why this happened or when it will be resolved. The initial automatic response indicates it was due to unusual activity on the account.
"The Labour Party is deeply concerned at such interference by Meta in our local and European campaigns at such a critical moment in the election."
The spokesperson said Labour candidates were "placed at a deliberate competitive disadvantage to other candidates".
