A Greener Election?

In December, Dublin City Council said it was examining the possibility of limiting the number of places election posters could be erected.

A Council spokesperson said this will not impact the upcoming General Election, however, as it is still teasing out how it could implement such a rule.

In recent years, debate has raged with the advent of new technology to reach voters and the growth of a more environmentally conscious public.

As a result, there have been calls for the use of posters to be discontinued.

In 2018, a survey by Claire Byrne Live/Amárach Research showed that 77% of Irish people thought the use of posters during election campaigns should be scrapped.

For many candidates, however, election posters remain a “necessary evil” to get their message across.

Independent TD Denis Naughton has announced that his campaign for the upcoming General Election will be “poster-free”.

“I want to make a clear statement of intent in relation to my determination to try and reduce the amount of plastic being generated rather than just soundbites,” said Naughton, who has been an Independent since losing the party whip in 2011.

“I also believe after seeing the proliferation of posters – particularly by European candidates during the election campaign last summer – that they are a blight on communities right across the country.

“That’s why I’ve taken at this decision to go poster free.”

Source: www.thejournal.ie/explainer-election-posters-4965184-Jan2020