Election posters 'could interfere with enjoyment of summer flowers'

Sorting the ballots at Local Elections 2019

Political parties and their candidates in the local and European elections in June are to be asked not to put posters in the main town area of Kilcullen, writes Brian Byrne.

The matter was raised at last night's March public meeting of Kilcullen Community Action, where Ray Kelly noted that the elections period will be at the same time as final preparations for the local Tidy Towns efforts, and posters would also take visually from the Kilcullen in Bloom summer flowers project. He also said that after the last elections, KCA workers and volunteers spent "a couple of weeks cutting down five or six hundred plastic poster ties."

He told the meeting that there's a lot of discussion about the issue across Kildare on the Tidy Towns WhatsApp groups. "They're all quoting Arklow, which is quite militant about this, more or less telling politicians not to put up posters," he said. "The general consensus in Kildare is to ask." He added that, depending on when the election is officially called, posters could be up legally for up to 37 days.

During the discussion, which included the 'democracy' aspect of voters being able to see their candidates, Eoin Houlihan wondered if a designated space could be offered for posters? "But where would that be?" Ray Kelly asked. "If you picked Nicholastown Green, for instance, the people in that area wouldn't be happy."

Martin Sheridan said the politicians should be told that the KCA summer flowers programme 'costs a fierce amount of money', and posters can 'affect the work we do all year'. "It means people can't enjoy our flowers," he added. "There's no point in beating around the bush, they should be told that any posters which interfere with that will be taken down." 

It was suggested that the directors of elections for the parties and the candidates themselves should be asked to restrict their postering to the approach areas of the town.

After discussion on whether to join in with a general letter from all the county's Tidy Towns groups, it was agreed that Kilcullen should make its own case. Ray Kelly is to draft a letter on the matter.

"It needs to be done soon," Eoin Houlihan said. "The elections will be on us before we know it."

Photographs use Policy — Privacy Policy