Thank you Mayo General Election Candidates

election posters blurredSwinford Tidy Towns committee would like to say thank you Mayo general election candidates for complying with our requests for an election poster free town. When the 2016 general election was called, the committee contacted each candidate in Mayo requesting that Swinford town environs remain an election poster free zone. Thanks to all, each of the candidates and all parties agreed to our request and were fully supportive of our initiative. We wish them all the best of luck in the election.

Thanks to the individual candidates in Mayo and political parties for supporting Swinford Tidy Towns
  • Callery, Dara
  • Chambers, Lisa
  • Conway-Walsh, Rose
  • Cowley, Jerry
  • Farrington, Michael
  • Forkan, Sean
  • Jordan, Peter
  • Kenny, Enda
  • Manning, Stephen
  • Moran, Tom
  • Mulherin, Michelle
  • O’Boyle, Jerry
  • O’Malley, George
  • Ring, Michael
  • Sheehan, Margaret
  • Uddin, Mohammad Kamal
Why did we ask for a poster free zone in Swinford town?
election posters cable ties

What’s usually left after posters are taken down.

After the last general election in 2011, Swinford tidy towns volunteers spent a full day (Good Friday) taking down cable ties that were left behind on the poles. The whole town, all approach roads and the length of the bypass was cleared of left over cable ties that were left behind on the poles, or cut and discarded at the base. In total six bags, yes 6 large bin bags of cable ties were collected!

We decided after the election in 2011 that we would have to do something! When the local and European elections were called in 2014, the committee decided to see if we could get all candidates and parties in both elections to refrain from putting up election posters inside the environs of Swinford town. To our surprise, when contacted, all candidates and parties were very supportive of our initiative and complied with our request. The whole community were also very supportive and behind the idea. That year, both the local and European elections went ahead as usual, everyone that was going to vote, voted. All without election posters up on the poles in Swinford! We would like to wish each candidate in the upcoming general election the very best of luck.

journal poll to ban election postersInterestingly more and more tidy towns groups in towns and villages all across Ireland are also asking for election poster free zones. All other candidates in other constituencies are also supportive of the idea, as are most of the electorate! In a recent poll by the Journal, 89% of the electorate wanted to see election posters scrapped altogether. Could we be seeing the last of election posters? Hopefully there will be a decline in the use of them in the coming years.

We are reminding all election agents of candidates and parties to inform contractors employed to erect election posters to please remove the cable ties when taking posters down. We would also ask that they take down all cable ties from poles, not to leave any behind, thanks.

Law Relating to Election Posters in Ireland:

Posters must be removed within 7 days of polling day. These requirements for election posters are set out under section 19 of the Litter Pollution Act 1997 and the Electoral (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 2009. Source: Litter Law Ireland

Michael
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