Minister to consider new controls on parties' poster campaigns

ELECTION AND referendum posters could be the subject of tougher regulations under measures to be considered by Minister for the Environment John Gormley.

Local authorities have increasingly raised concerns about "the proliferation of posters, their use in unsuitable locations, and the failure to remove posters, including poster ties, within the statutory seven-day period", according to Mr Gormley's department.

He is shortly to announce a public consultation process on the use of posters, which were particularly visible during the Lisbon Treaty campaign.

Currently, election and referendum posters are exempt from the Litter Pollution Acts until seven days after polling day, but often many remain up for weeks.

In particular, residents have become irritated that parties and organisations consistently fail to take down the plastic ties used to put up the posters - even if they remove the poster itself.

Though no final decisions have been taken by the department, the options available include restricting the locations in which posters can be displayed; introducing a mandatory code of practice; and stiffer powers for local authorities to introduce bylaws to regulate their use in their own areas.

Submissions are invited from all interested individuals and organisations by September 15th, 2008, either by e-mail to electionposters_at_environ.ie or by post to Election Poster Consultation, Environment Policy Section, Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Ardcavan Business Park, Wexford.

The review may also be asked to consider rules governing the times when posters can be erected, as many of the big parties now run significant postering campaigns before an election is called - which are thus not considered part of the election spend.

In the 2002 election campaign, for instance, Fianna Fáil ran one of the most expensive billboard poster campaigns ever in the six months before the election was called.

During the Lisbon referendum, one of the groups seeking a No vote, Cóir - which has strong links with Youth Defence - was sharply criticised in some quarters because its posters were not clearly identifiable as belonging to them.

Nearly all of the political parties were criticised for using the referendum as an opportunity to promote candidates running in next year's local elections, though it is doubtful if the Gormley review will have any impact on this.

Last year, the Road Safety Authority (RSA) issued a warning that some party workers erecting election posters endangered the safety of pedestrians and obscured traffic signs. Under the Road Traffic Act of 1961 it is an offence to place any sign or notice that blocks a traffic sign.

© 2008 The Irish Times

This article appears in the print edition of the Irish Times