Will election posters in Offaly soon be a thing of the past?

Election posters - love them or hate them, it can't be denied that they add greatly to the excitement and anticipation of an approaching election.

However, a trial run in Offaly severely restricting where and when they can be put up may pave the way for their demise soon.

Come election time many of our towns and villages are “consumed” by election paraphernalia, Independent Councillor from the Kilcormac area, John Leahy told the monthly meeting of the Birr Municipal Council on Monday evening.

Plans are underway in his area to stop placing election posters anywhere outside a strictly designated area. A centrally located billboard will instead be erected, with fair space for all candidates allotted.

The idea is to prevent the overwhelming visual proliferation of posters cluttering the streetscape of towns and villages - similar to how election advertising is conducted on the continent in countries like France and Belgium.

“We discussed it at our SPC meeting last week and we hope to have more about the plans later this year. Our towns are consumed by posters at every election and a designated area for them might be a better way of doing it”, Cllr. Leahy told the meeting.