Galway Greens

No one seems to have told John Gormley that the summer holidays are here as he is still working away in his Department. His latest announcement concerns what was the bane on my participation in last years General Election  - the much overused election poster!

 Minister Gormley is asking the public to send in their views on election posters (contact details below) with a view to restricting their proliferation during next year’s locals. It is understandable that such a development is coming from a Green Party Minister, as we have an ‘interesting’ history with election posters.

 We started by rejecting the use of election posters all together, which was something of a moot point considering we didn’t have two pennies to rub together, let alone have enough money to buy these pricey election tools! We slowly moved away from such a policy in the nineties when we discovered the voters who knew what a candidate looked like were more likely to vote for them. Academic research on election tools whole heartedly supports the notion that posters are crucial to electoral success, hence the explosion in the numbers used at election time.

 However, being the cash strapped party that we are, we still rely on ordinary members to put up these posters at election time. I remember at the last GE being on Salthill prom on a windy Sunday morning, climbing to the very top of the pole to get the posters of Niall in to the ideal position. It was my first brush with postering and I have no shame in saying that I clung to the pole with my dear life. What I would have given for a cherry picker, or even just a helmet! So being the only Party not contact out the putting up of posters, it is unsurprising that any attempt to restrict them is coming from a Green Party Minister.

 But what will any restrictions look like? A blanket ban would be nice, but perhaps we should lower expectations. Personally, I think Local Authorities should be obliged to set aside between 25 & 40% of each ward to be designated as a ‘poster free’ zone. Such a proposal would work well in urban areas, but less so in rural areas where the County Councils could choose the least populated areas to be designated as ‘poster free’ zones. Thus county towns would still be overrun during election time, and let’s not forget that in recent years elections have coincided somewhat with the peak tourist season (General Election 2007 in May, Local & European Election 2004 in June). What must all those American tourists think of Eamon O Cuiv’s smiling face greeting them as they disembark on the Aran Islands!

 Another proposal would be to link the number of poster to the size of the ward - 10 posters per 1 square kilometer? But for a variety of reasons, this would be impossible to police.

 The response from the opposition was it usual self - absurd. FG’s environment spokesman rejected any restrictions on posters, claiming that they added to the razzmatazz of election time. From a Party that has Enda Kenny as its leader, it is a little rich to lecture us on ‘razzmatazz’ at election time. When ever Inda himself popped up on the tellie I imagine the collective groan from the nation was enough to drown out whatever drivel he was spouting at the time. Then again, they did bring us the infamous ‘Twink Ard Fheis’, so perhaps they speak with some authority.

 I’ll finish this post with a final thought - if postering is restricted, what will candidates spend their money on? A Dáil candidate can spend anywhere between €10,000 & €15,000 on posters. Suggestions please on where you think that money will go!

 To make a public submission, e-mail electionposters@environ.ie by September 15th.