In summary, the Councillors who voted in favour of the resolution put forward the view that they thought that the Quarryvale proposals were good. They felt that Quarryvale would provide much needed jobs in the Clondalkin area. As already stated Councillors who were neither familiar with the location or the conditions applicable in an area for which development proposals were advanced tended to be guided by the views of their colleagues in the area in question and to make their decisions accordingly. Election campaigns in multi-seat constituencies breed intense electoral competition between, and often within, parties. In addition there was no cap on campaign spending as there is at present.
Candidates often put some effort into fundraising to support their campaigns.
Several of those interviewed by the Committee were candidates in many of these campaigns. This necessitated fundraising activities in order to support campaign operations. Councillors interviewed by the Committee outlined various fundraising activities including race nights, golf classics and other social functions. It should be borne in mind that state funding was not available for most of this time. The receipt of donations for political purposes is not wrong.