Electoral Postering Consultation Paper

An Coimisiún Toghcháin (An Coimisiún), Ireland’s independent electoral commission, was established on 9 February 2023. An Coimisiún’s powers are set out in the Electoral Reform Act 2022 and include conducting or commissioning electoral research. An Coimisiún may also make recommendations based on this research to the Minister and Government.

An Coimisiún ran a public consultation on its draft Research Programme in November 2023. Informed by the submissions received, An Coimisiún published its first Research Programme 2024-2026 in July 2024. This identifies several research topics for An Coimisiún for the period to 2026 including the use of election posters.

An Coimisiún is now beginning this research on posters supported by an external research team. It will look at the rules and practices around postering in other countries while taking account of Ireland’s particular electoral and democratic system. It will examine the existing rules in Ireland and how they work as well as the evidence regarding posters, their objectives and any advantages and disadvantages of their use.

Posters affect everyone living in Ireland as they are widely displayed throughout the country during electoral periods. The views of stakeholders and the public will therefore be an important factor as we consider the future of election postering in Ireland.

Respondents are advised that An Coimisiún is subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2014, the European Communities (Access to Information on the Environment) Regulations 2007-2014 and Data Protection legislation. It is intended that all submissions received will be published on our website following the publication of the final research report and thus may be liable to be disclosed.

The rules around the display of election posters in Ireland including timing, placement, and certain required content are set out in primary legislation.

Under Section 19 of the Litter Pollution Act 1997, as amended, election posters may only be erected after the official polling date is set and for a maximum of thirty days before the election. In the case of referendums, posters may not be erected before the official polling date is set. Posters must be removed within seven days following polling day. The responsibility for enforcement of litter law lies with the local authority. Any election/referendum posters in place before or after the stipulated timeframe are deemed to be in breach of the legislation with non-compliance subject to a fine of €150.

Local authorities are also responsible for the removal of posters which constitute a hazard to either pedestrians or road users.

Posters may not be placed within fifty metres of a polling station on election / referendum day as per section 147 of the Electoral Act 1992, as amended, with violations carrying penalties including imprisonment of up to two years.

However, in conducting its Post Electoral Event Reviews (PEERs) for the elections in 2024 An Coimisiún has noted a lack of clarity in relation to the enforcement of these rules.g at national projects and initiatives to encourage and increase electoral engagement across society.

For many years, the use of posters during Irish election and referendum campaigns has been the topic of considerable discussion and debate among experts, stakeholders, the media and the wider public. This topic was also raised in several submissions received by An Coimisiún during its public research consultation.

The use of election posters in Ireland is highly personalised. These characteristics reflect the distinctive candidate-centric qualities of Ireland’s political landscape, which are connected with Ireland’s proportional representation electoral system (PRSTV) and its political culture. The Seanad debate on the Regulation of Display of Electoral and Polling Posters and Other Advertisements Bill 2022[1] gives an overview of recent discussion in this area including potential political, economic, social, cultural and environmental ramifications.

In certain ways Ireland is an outlier regarding its use of posters, with more permissive regulations than many other countries in terms of the placement, dimensions, and general usage of posters. Some organisations and members of the public have called for the use of posters to be restricted or banned entirely due to potential environmental impacts, visual pollution, safety concerns for the public, and fears that posters may disadvantage candidates who do not have access to significant funding to pay for posters. Several communities in Ireland have already requested that candidates refrain from erecting posters, or that they restrict their usage to designated areas.

However, from an electoral perspective the presence of posters helps raise awareness that a vote is about to take place and provides visual cues of who voters will see on the ballot paper. Ireland’s political system is significantly candidate-based. Postering has long been a key medium for political and electoral communication and can be seen as a visual manifestation of the close relationship between candidates and their constituencies.

To these ends, concerns have been raised that excessive regulation of posters could reduce awareness of and information about elections. Some commentators suggest that a more restrictive approach could even potentially deprive cohorts of the population that find it more difficult to engage with the political process of a valuable source of information, potentially exacerbating issues of marginalisation and inaccessibility.

Reflecting the input received on this topic during the research programme consultation process the following are particular areas of interest of the research:

• The role of posters as a political communication tool in election campaigns in Ireland and elsewhere compared to other methods of political communication, both traditional and online;
• how and whether posters impact political engagement and electoral awareness among the electorate, including amongst people who may be marginalised from the political process; and
• the environmental impacts of posters.

In thinking about these questions your views are very important to us, and we would encourage you to participate and tell us what you think.

Remember the closing date for submissions is Friday 9 May at 5:00pm.

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[1] Regulation of Display of Electoral and Polling Posters and Other Advertisements Bill 2022: Second Stage – Seanad Éireann (26th Seanad) – Tuesday, 17 May 2022 – Houses of the Oireachtas

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