At next Monday’s Galway City Council meeting, Independent Cllr Donal Lyons will call for a “voluntary ban on all political posters in the city area for the forthcoming Local and European elections”.
If it is passed the move could result in no election posters being erected throughout the city in the run-up to the June ballot. However as the ban is voluntary, there may be no compulsion on any party or individual to adhere to it if they do not want to.
In order to gauge the mood of city politicians in advance of Monday’s vote, the Galway Advertiser contacted candidates, and asked them is they the plan to use posters for June’s Local Election campaign? Is the use of posters appropriate, given the Volvo Ocean Race will be in Galway close to election time? If they did not agree to a ban, would they support a limited poster campaign?
In total 17 candidates responded to the questionnaire and the results show that, while there is a groundswell of support for banning election posters, turning this into a reality will be very difficult.
Do you plan to use posters?
The survey showed that six respondents want to use posters and three do not. A total of eight were as unsure as they are waiting for the outcome of Monday’s vote. However the majority of these will be supporting Cllr Lyons call for a ban on posters.
Independent councillors Donal Lyons and Terry O’Flaherty are not planning to use any posters for the campaign.
Fine Gael Cllr Brian Walsh, the Greens, and Fianna Fáil have not yet decided on the use of posters, but support Cllr Lyons’ motion. The result of that motion will ultimately decide what they do.
However a feeling expressed by most respondents is that if the ban is approved it must be adhered to by all - without exception. This may be the undoing of any attempt to ban posters or get people to voluntarily abstain from using them.
Labour is opposed to any ban on posters and new candidates are very keen to use them, arguing it is an essential tool for them in building name recognition. Fine Gael candidate Frank Fahy will use posters because he is “a new candidate and the need for voter recognition, and so as to prevent confusion with another politician of the same name”.
A limited poster campaign?
Labour and the new candidates were open to a more limited poster campaign instead of an outright ban.
“I would be open to a restriction on posters in a very limited number of places, perhaps along the prom/seafront and in the immediate city centre,” said Labour’s Derek Nolan. “Otherwise postering should continue as normal”.
His party colleague Cllr Billy Cameron suggested that only Eyre Square and the Green Dragon route (from the Docks to along the prom ) should be poster-free. Others, like Green candidate James Hope, countered this, saying it would be unfair to candidates in that area if they could not display posters, while candidates in unaffected areas would be free to continue postering.
Overall the idea of a limited poster campaign met with a very mixed response. Candidates feel there should either be a complete ban or no ban at all.
“We either go for a total ban or nothing,” said Cllr John Connolly. “I find it very hard to see how a ban in certain locations would work. Agreeing the specific areas won’t be easy and policing that would be very difficult.”
Posters during the Volvo Ocean Race?
The reason the prom comes up as an area to keep clear of posters is because the Volvo Ocean Race organisers have asked the Galway City Council to consider a voluntary ban on posters during the race’s stopover.
Many feel the posters would be unsightly and would not put forward the best image of Galway to the thousands of people who will be watching the race. Do the candidates feel the use of posters is appropriate, given that the Volvo Ocean Race will be in Galway close to election time?
A total of 10 respondents - councillors Lyons, O’Flaherty, and Walsh, Fianna Fáil, the Greens - believe posters would be inappropriate during the Volvo Ocean Race.
Labour argued for the posters, despite the Volvo Ocean Race, while five respondents (again, mostly the new candidates ) held mixed views on the question.
“Galway should be looking its best during the race,” said Cllr Lyons. “Posters would be a blight on the landscape.”
However Derek Nolan countered this by saying: “To ban posters outright is to say that a single sporting event is more important than local democracy or elections. I certainly don’t believe that and wouldn’t support that idea.”
Conclusions
The overall impression from the respondents is that a limited poster campaign, while good in theory, would be very difficult to police and could prove unfair as it would affect some candidates more than others (ie if posters are banned from the city centre that puts Galway City Central candidates at a disadvantage ).
There is support among the majority of parties and candidates for Cllr Lyons’ call for a voluntary ban on posters. However almost all respondents added that the ban must be adhered to by everyone. A situation where one or two parties used posters, and the rest did not, would not be tolerated by any of the city candidates.
Labour remain determined to use posters while the new candidates see it as vital in getting their name out to the public. If Cllr Lyons’ motion is passed they may not adhere to it as the ban is voluntary, not compulsory. As such, any postering by them will force the hand of those who would prefer a ban, to likewise erect posters.
