Social media an 'absolute disaster and nightmare' for politicians, says poll topper Dollard

Social media is an "absolute disaster and nightmare for politicians", that's the view of veteran councillor Mick Dollard, who is set to top the polls once again in Mullingar, nearly 40 years after he first entered public life.

According to the tallies, the former Labour man turned Independent received 1,675 first preference votes, over 18 percent of the total vote in Mullingar.

Speaking at the count in Moate a short time ago, he said that aside from sending text messages, the way he runs his campaign hasn't changed over the past four decades. While many local and national politicians use social media to communicate with the public, he believes that negatives far outweigh the positives.

Doing the work on the ground, and getting out and meeting people face to face is the most effective way for politicians to connect with voters, he says.

"It [social media] is an absolute disaster and nightmare for politicians. I tell it to many councillors, TDs and ministers that I know. Why are they setting themselves up for trouble like this now?...I'm always of the view that if you give a mobile phone to some people, it's like giving them a shotgun."