Minister to repay Oireachtas after video shows her stuffing postbox with prepaid envelopes

Minister of State Anne Rabbitte has said she will reimburse the Oireachtas for prepaid envelopes used during the election campaign after a video emerged of her stuffing a postbox with hundreds of letters after the Dáil was dissolved.

The video – captioned “And so it begins” and set to the tune, Love Letters in the Sand by Pat Boone – was posted on Instagram by the Fianna Fáil candidate shortly after the general election was called on November 8.

It showed her wearing a jacket displaying her election slogan while squeezing stacks of Oireachtas prepaid envelopes into a postbox in her native Portumna, Co Galway.

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TDs receive an allocation of 1,250 prepaid envelopes from the Houses of the Oireachtas every month to be used in connection with their duties as public representatives.

According to the Standards in Public Office Commission (SIPO), these envelopes should not be used for election purposes. If they are used after the Dáil has been dissolved, the outgoing TD must reimburse the Oireachtas.

Yesterday, a spokesman for Ms Rabbitte told the Irish Mirror that the correspondence contained in the envelopes had been a “constituency update” and did not seek votes in the upcoming election.

He also said the video, which was posted after the election was called, had actually been recorded before the election was called. This meant Ms Rabbitte would not need to reimburse the Oireachtas for them.

However, the spokesman indicated that some Oireachtas envelopes had been used since the dissolution of the Dáil, and said Ms Rabbitte would be repaying the Oireachtas for these.

“It’s important to note that the letters sent were a constituency update, detailing recent investment in Galway East and the social protection payment dates following Budget 2025. They do not seek a vote preference in the upcoming election,” he said.

“The majority of letters issued were sent before the election, and the Instagram footage was filmed before the election was called but posted after. For the letters sent after the general election was called, the minister is repaying the Oireachtas for usage of those envelopes.”

In an earlier statement, SIPO said: “The Standards Commission has advised that, in advance of the dissolution of the Dáil, TDs and senators should not use Oireachtas envelopes for electoral purposes… as these have been provided to them arising out of their duties as public representatives.”

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