Town bans election posters
Election candidates will be banned from putting up posters of themselves throughout Kinsale in Co Cork during the coming months.
Kinsale Town Council, at their meeting on Monday, voted to ban election posters and to empower the local authority to remove any posters that are put up in the town.
Members of the town council said that the posters were a hazard to those trying to keep the town tidy. Cllr Tomás O’Brien said: “It is important that we can remove the posters as someone always gets in a panic and sticks them up closer to the election date.”
Cllr Fred Treacy said that plastic ties from the posters remained from the last elections in 2004 and were an eyesore when they were not removed properly.
However, Green Party Cllr Isabel Sutton argued that a limited amount of space should be made available for new candidates as they would be at a disadvantage.
She said: “Posters can be very important for new candidates and it is fine for us when people know who we are but it is a bit discriminatory against new and young candidates.
“If we want to encourage young people to stand for election then we should designate an area where a limited number of posters can be put up.”
However, the motion was put to a vote and members voted overwhelmingly in favour of banning election posters.
