Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Question 402: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his views on restricting the number of election posters permitted for use in both national and local elections; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9364/11]

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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My Department held a public consultation on the control of postering for elections and referenda in Autumn 2008. Following on from this, a number of measures, including restricting the number of posters per candidate, were pilot tested during the 2009 Local and European Elections, and local authorities were canvassed for their views on these measures.

Several local authorities indicated that any restriction on the number of posters per candidate would be difficult to police effectively. There were also concerns that restricting the number of posters per candidate would favour larger parties with several candidates running, while restricting the number of posters per party would disadvantage candidates with running mates. Furthermore there were concerns that any such measures would disadvantage first time candidates and thus interfere with the democratic process. Other concerns included the diverse geographical nature of constituencies, e.g. small urban vs large rural.

As a result, no measures were introduced to restrict the number of posters at that time. However, section 19 (7) of the Litter Pollution Act 1997 was amended by the Electoral (Amendment) (No.2) Act 2009, to introduce a 30 day time limit prior to an election taking place, during which election posters can be displayed. Prior to this amendment, the relevant legislation had required that election posters be taken down within 7 days of an election; however, no time limit had been specified for the period prior to an election within which posters could be displayed. While not dealing directly with the number of election posters on display, this legislation ensures that posters are only displayed for a limited period.

For the reasons outlined, I have no plans to restrict the number of election posters permitted at this time.