Fix ‘ambiguous’ electoral act, says baptism barrier campaigner

Equate’s founder, Michael Barron, told The Sunday Business Post the sheer volume of correspondence required from Sipo to answer a complaint about funding contributed to winding down the organisation

Michael Barron, the founder of campaign group Equate, which was wound down last yearPicture: Maxwells

In July 2017, the Standards in Public Office Commission (Sipo), Ireland’s electoral spending watchdog, gave Equate a clean bill of health. The education campaigning group was not, Sipo documents from the time show, in contravention of campaign funding laws.

Six months later, however, Equate was forced to wind down after continued complaints about their funding from a member of the Church of Ireland – who was complaining as a private individual while simultaneously ...