Local election candidate won’t be putting up promotional posters
Green Party local election candidate Ann Walsh has decided not to put up posters in Gorey due to safety concerns and the environmental impact.
Ms Walsh hopes to be the first Green representative for Gorey after the June elections and is fully aware that this decision puts her on the back foot in terms of face recognition but also feels it is the right thing to do. However, she says her decision is in no way to criticise those who decide to use posters, which are legally permitted.
“Face recognition, particularly for new candidates is so important, although new candidates, in particular independents and those in smaller parties do not have the financial means to compete with sitting representatives and those from larger parties in terms of poster numbers,” said Ann.
Indeed, the Green Party is encouraging all candidates to put up posters as not doing so puts them at a disadvantage until their 2022 Bill on Regulation of Display of Electoral and Polling Posters and Other Advertisements is passed. This Bill which was put forward by Green Party Senator Pauline O’Reilly is currently before the Electoral Commission.
Similar to other European countries, all candidates would have equally allocated space. This would prevent an unfair advantage to those who can afford to cover every lamp post with posters. While individual councils have tried to address this, government legislates and regulates, can give councils the means to designate where poster zones should be.
“Plastic production accounts for 4.5 per cent of the world’s carbon emissions, and this is even before we look at the impact of plastic waste, election posters are made of cheap plastics and more environmentally friendly materials do not withstand Irish weather. In the 2014 local elections, 600,000 posters blighted our streets and countryside, the equivalent of 23 Croke Parks full of posters,” said Ann.
Health and safety is another issue that concerns Ann, having run in the 2016 General Election and used a small number of posters because of the data on face recognition. A the time, she noted how people were climbing ladders, very often in the dark, to great heights, and feels people are unnecessarily putting their lives at risk to get an election candidate a few extra votes. Posters that fall, due to weather or not being secured properly also pose a health and safety risk.
Ann hopes other candidates will follow suit until the Bill is passed, and if they do intend to put up posters, that they consider the environment and people’s health and safety when deciding on the number and positioning of posters.