Robbie Gallagher (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Next Saturday, the picturesque village of Glaslough will open its arms to President Michael D. Higgins, who is going there to celebrate the national award it won in 2019. Unfortunately, during the Covid pandemic he was not able to visit. However, he will be going to Glaslough on Saturday to celebrate its success. We look forward to that. The various Tidy Towns groups and volunteers we are all deeply indebted to are busy making sure that their villages and towns are looking their absolute best. We commend them on the work that they do. As we know, the local and European elections will take place on 7 June. This corresponds roughly with the time when the adjudication relating to the Tidy Towns competition takes place. Some villages and towns have asked canvassers not to put up posters, which is fair enough, and some have not. Some volunteers are afraid that because their town or village has allowed posters or billboards to be erected, they might lose points. Some of the new candidates are concerned that they might not be able to get their faces out to the public in those towns and villages where they have been asked not to put up posters. To my mind, there seems to be a simple solution to this. I wrote to the Minister, Deputy Heather Humphreys, this morning and asked her to delay the adjudication until after 7 June. That would seem to make perfect sense. It is only a week or so later. Therefore, candidates can rest assured that they will have no issues in that regard, and the volunteers of our Tidy Towns groups will be reassured that their town or village will not lose points because of the fact that they have posters or billboards erected with the faces of candidates, both in local elections and indeed the European elections. I would be grateful if the Acting Leader would write to the Minister, if Members are happy for her to, along similar lines.