Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

This is an issue that involves all of us who partake in election campaigns. We put up and take down posters. It is time-consuming and expensive. The fundamental issue we need to be very careful about is that it is an important part of election campaigning. Especially in some traditionally working-class areas, and some people might not believe this, there are some people who are not aware that an election is taking place until the posters go up on the poles. We can live in a bubble of elections and politics. Many people are not aware that elections are happening.

Some statistics and reports confirm that posters increase turnout. A small turnout will be increased by the use of posters. It is important. I have no problem with looking at and changing how we use them at the moment but I have concerns. It does not particularly affect my party but it does impact smaller parties and newer candidates. We need to be very careful about what we are doing when we look to change our approach to the use of posters. This issue comes up at every election. Most Tidy Towns organisations do not want posters in their areas. We have problems during every election campaign. I do not mind considering the issue but it is important to remember that putting up posters is an important part of the democratic process, especially for smaller parties and newer candidates. I would be very careful before deciding to make any changes.