The Green Party has today called for postering restrictions to be brought in for all future referendum and election campaigns.

Speaking following the historic referendum campaign to repeal the 8th amendment, Green Party Spokesperson for Local Government, Cllr Malcolm Noonan said that the referendum exit polls showed that the poster campaign had little influence on voter attitudes or decision making.

“It is clear now that social media is the campaign tool of choice for elections and referenda. Posters are environmentally destructive, visually ugly and a waste of money; in the case of general elections, taxpayers money.

“We are proposing that election and referendum posters be restricted by Local Authorities to designated sites in large towns or cities, where all campaigners and candidates can display their posters. This would reduce significantly the number of posters being printed and displayed, improve road safety and the attractiveness of our towns during the tourist season. Perhaps over time we could eliminate them altogether, but for now the Minister could issue direction to Local Authorities to introduce restrictions.

“The repeal campaign proved that posters as a campaign tool are redundant. These posters waste vast quantities of plastic and ink, most people I spoke to find them repulsive and would not be swayed either way in a campaign by a poster. Like the 8th amendment, it’s time to consign them to history.”