Seanad debates

Tuesday, 17 May 2022

Regulation of Display of Electoral and Polling Posters and Other Advertisements Bill 2022: Second Stage

 

2:30 pm

Photo of Barry WardBarry Ward (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am aware of the huge work that is done by the Dalkey Tidy Towns committee and Des Burke-Kennedy. They have done amazing work making a fabulous place out of Dalkey, as if it was not a fabulous place already. In the most recent election, they talked about removing all posters from a wide area around Dalkey. I have got news for those who say this is citizens taking back power. We are the people that citizens are choosing.The politicians - the people who put their names on ballot papers - are the representatives of the citizens. Citizens do not have to rule those people out. They can actually still talk to them. God knows, in Ireland more than in any other jurisdiction in the world, and certainly more than in any other jurisdiction in Europe, politicians are close to the people. They are talking to the people and listening to them. They knock on people's doors every day. We complain about the clientelism of Irish politics but the reality is it brings the body politic much closer to people on the ground. I have no doubt politicians are plugged into the citizenry, being citizens themselves in the vast majority of cases, and hear what they have to say. In fact, what I would oppose is a Tidy Towns committee making a decision for all the citizens. I have significant respect for Tidy Towns committees. The Tidy Towns committee in which I am involved in my area, Monkstown, is a fantastic organisation with great people, but that does not mean they get to make decisions for other people. That is an important part of it.

What is absolutely correct, however, is that more posters do not equal more votes. Votes are not won by posters; they are won by hard work. Working for people, knocking on their doors, listening to their concerns and then acting on those concerns is what wins votes. When it comes to elections, however, everybody must have an equal chance to get their name out there and posters, like it or lump it, are a key part of that.

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