THERE were calls for Gardaí to investigate reports that Sinn Féin members were given fake ID badges and a training manual by the party to pose as researchers working for a polling company.
The Irish Independent reported that the 2015 election manual explained to members what they should ask voters in the Republic about their intentions under the guise of the 'Irish Market Research Agency' (IMRA).
But the agency does not exist.
The newspaper claims sample ballot papers featuring an IMRA logo along with a page of printable 'authorisation' badges for the fake opinion poll firm were included in the party's Election Toolkit Dublin 2015.
The ID badges falsely describe IMRA as an "independent organisation that is dedicated to the compiling of accurate, political and social information in Ireland".
The manual gave Sinn Féin members instructions on how research should be conducted when posing as the fake research firm.
It is also claimed canvassers were told to tell people they surveyed that they were "casually employed" by IMRA for one day only and that the polling company was based in Dublin.
It was also reported that the party was "of the view" that information gathered would help Sinn Féin to "shape and mould its message to the electorate".
But Fianna Fáil TD Marc Macsharry said Gardaí should investigate the reports.
"This amounts to basic subversion of the public," he told Newstalk.
"Provision of fake IDs to proscribe what lies people say on behalf of a political party is not normal political behaviour and I think the Gardaí should be consulted quite frankly on it.
"I think when we have proof now of a 77-page manual telling, encouraging and training personnel how to lie … providing them with fake official documents or would-be official documents, I think, says a great deal about the organisation.
"It is extremely worrying and I don’t know anybody involved in politics up to now, who would have engaged in such subversion in the modern democratic world."
A Sinn Féin spokesperson told the Irish Independent: "All parties conduct private local opinion polling.
"The document you are referring to is many years old and these days we generally use professional companies for this service."
