I’ve never been a great fan of posters on lampposts, and would be a lot happier if there was a total moratorium on them by all parties, but of course the big players who can afford to swamp the area with them would never go for that.
First out of the traps this year is Christy ‘never-mind-the-Litter-Act’ O’Sullivan from FF. He didn’t chance putting all his posters up - just 15 to 20 around the outskirts of each main town - enough that if the council whipped them down on Monday it’d not put a dent in the total stock.
I reckon that the long-suffering electorate has to look at all our ugly mugs for long enough, without one of us jumping the gun to get some exclusive exposure on the lampposts of West Cork. I asked the County Council’s Senior Engineer whether they would press charges, especially since it is a member of the Co. Council that has broken the law. He said it wouldn’t be worth his while because the judge would probably let him off, it being so close to the election.
He did suggest that since it is litter, we could take them down ourselves - in the same way that one might pick up rubbish off the street, I guess we could take some of Christy’s rubbish off the lamp-posts. They cost him about €8 each by the way. Dublin Corpo takes them down with a long-reach tree clipper.
Hi Quentin,
I’ve just posted a relevant comment relating to leaflets on Conor’s blog as follows:
Has anyone actually read Christy O’Sullivan’s leaflet?
The first paragraph on the inside page reads - and I quote exactly:
“Our Traditional industries farming and fishing have seen major changes taking place over the last decade however, I will endeavour to ensure that government departments will engage in full consultation with the various representative groups in finding an agreed strategy going forward for these industries which are integral in many of our coastal communities it is imperative for many of our coastal towns and villages to ensure that no further decline of these industries take place.”
Surely Fianna Fail could have employed a proof reader before subjecting such an appallingly badly written piece of nonsense on the ignorant electorate - ’tis no wonder we are ignorant if those in power are ignorant too!
April 26th, 2007, at 8:53 am #Yes, and perhaps we could proof read Denis O’Donovan’s greenwash. “Bring centres for disposal of glass (bottles & jars), beverage cans, PLASTIC DRINKS BOTTLES [my capitals] and food cans are located in all towns and villages and other focal points… Facilities for disposal of paper and plastics are located in all the bigger centres.
So thats it then, nobody who wrote or proofed that leaflet has ever been to a bottle bank.
April 26th, 2007, at 3:50 pm #Well, since you yourself pointed us to Conors blog, reading the litter act, looks like you were first out of the trap or first to be trapped maybe. Such a shame you’ve decided to target one candidate. A shame you cant just stand for election without attacking another candidate. Mr. “interpret-the-litter-act-my-own-way-to-bring-down-other-candidates” Gargan
April 29th, 2007, at 12:36 am #traditionally i voted green such as paula giles. She was a true green, great person. I am none the less concerned of the way the green party is going. May be its coincidental but the water in galway has been a disgrace and i am wondering why it is that when we eventually got one of our own in as mayor we did not sort out this problem. Also and more importantly locally, after i read the article in the southern star i proceeded to investigate the litter act and allthough it is somewhat unclear i could not find any part of it that says that what christy did was wrong, the 30th dail has been due with a few months. I have always been a true green and i hope you publish my post, maybe you will only satisfy one green, every vote counts.
April 29th, 2007, at 9:50 am #Two comments to respond to on posters (from Gen & Enda), so I will take them together. The central plank of my campaign has been the urgent need for Ireland to change direction in its reliance on fossil fuels, and our abject failure to meet our Kyoto targets without resorting to buying carbon credits - something most
environmentalists regard as being akin to the plenary indulgences that funded St. Peters.
Ireland is well placed to achieve 100% energy self-reliance from carbon-free sources, and there are enormous opportunities for economic growth in the process. Yet our economic boom is reliant on a construction industry building shoddy houses that will impoverish families both financially and in terms of fuel poverty for years to come.
I have worked hard in the past months getting media coverage on issues, some of which are not vote catchers, such as burning waste, the futility and dangers of burning gorse, the phenomenal rise in our car-dependence, and even statements on how CCGT gas turbines sterilise the grid for future renewable energy introduction.
The central point of my campaign has definitely not been Christy O’Sullivan’s posters. As I pointed out on Conor’s blog, I am disappointed that out of the various press releases I have put out, this is the only one that made the front page of the Southern Star, but editors know their public and that’s how the cookie crumbled. In the greater scheme of things, I regard the posters as a minor issue, but I don’t think people who chance their arms are the ones we want running the country either. Am I wrong to issue a statement on something so unimportant? Maybe - especially if it takes the focus off other more important issues in my campaign.
As regards whether Christy’s posters were a breach of the law, I consulted a solicitor and the Senior Engineer in Cork Co. Council responsible for litter. Both said that they were. Dublin Co. Council acted swiftly in relation to similar posters from Pat the Cope Gallagher. The litter Act says that an exception is made for posters in connection with an election. It is generally understood that until 8.00am this morning there was no election for these posters to be ‘in relation to’. Short of getting advise from a Senior Counsel, there may be no definitive answer to that, but no other candidate in this constituency put posters on lamposts before today, so I take it that they also agree with the generally accepted interpretation.
Anyhow, its all history now. The campaign is on, and I look forward to seeing more serious issues debated. Happily the first major debate between candidates will be on the environment. Duncan Stewart is coming to Bantry tomorrow night (Monday 30th) for a debate with candidates from all the main parties on climate change and Ireland’s response. Much more important than posters!
April 29th, 2007, at 11:26 am #Dear Quentin, while you term the poster issue as unimportant you obviously set out to damage another candidate. How important was that to you. And to say you have posted stuff on your green issues, well maybe you sent articles into the newspapers that didn’t get published, however, nobody would stop you posting on the internet, and yet all I can find from Conors blog to political forums is Christy’s poster. You must be really scared of this Christy fella
April 29th, 2007, at 6:35 pm #Hi Gen,Don’t have broadband yet (though nearly there with Digital Forge) so I don’t get to do as much blog-commentary as I’d like to. Has anyone else found that dial-up has really gone to the dogs lately by the way? But I have put bits and pieces on other blogs such as http://www.politics.ie and
Tom Raftery’s blog as well as other parts of Conor’s blog on trying to vote for informed people.
All press releases also go onto my own web page and most of them have been covered on various papers or the radio. I’ve nothing against Christy - in many ways he’s a likeable sort of bloke. The day the posters went up, I got a heap of phone calls from people all over the place giving out about it. You have to appreciate that a lot of people don’t like posters at all, and especially don’t like having to endure them for longer than is absolutely necessary. Its a valid viewpoint, regardless of whose mug is on them.
April 29th, 2007, at 8:29 pm #Thanks for your reply, I understand that sometimes information from the county council can be inaccurate and the definition imminint (as in when the ellection is imminint)is vague or un clear. I know the media will cherry pick articles or words that sell issues of their paper. I suppose the issue should be forgot about as its old news now and now that the ellection is called nothing could be done now any way. I just hope that the media aren’t trying to influence votes and portraying both yourself and christy in an incorrect way.
April 30th, 2007, at 12:26 pm #p.s. you didn’t reply to the galway mayor issue
Hi Enda, Yep - perhaps the real winners on this debate are F.G. / Labour. Thats a lesson to learn.
Sorry I forgot about the Galway water one. The truth is that Local authorities have very little power or resources to really administer their own affairs. The following is a statement which Niall O’Brolcháin put out a couple of weeks ago on this;
“There is no doubt that the unelected officials in charge of capital spending - and the infamous €21.5m designated for the upgrade of the Terryland water treatment plant - have dragged their feet. Since being elected to Galway City Council in 2004 I have done my utmost to speed up the deployment of adequate water services for the people of the city, and to ensure that water quality in Lough Corrib was up to scratch. I have a long and detailed record of my attempts to get the ball rolling, and also of how other councillors undermined me and accused me at the time of scaremongering.
“If we look at the probable causes of the cryptosporidium outbreak, rather than focussing solely on Galway’s grossly inadequate water treatment facilities, it becomes even more evident that the fingerprints of Minister Roche and his cabinet colleagues are all over this mess. Water quality in Lough Corrib, which is the source of Galway City’s water supply, has been continuously and seriously degraded over the lifetime of this Government.
“Ecologists and users of the lake have warned local and national government over the past ten years that a crisis was becoming ever more likely, even inevitable. Development has been allowed to run far in advance of the provision of necessary services and infrastructure; septic tanks at isolated dwellings were permitted indiscriminately and without further maintenance inspections; water treatment facilities were de-prioritised; dense non-native forestry, needing fertiliser and pesticides, was encouraged; and permission was given for agricultural and building land to extend much closer to the banks of lakes and rivers than is recommended.
“These are the policies endorsed by the Government, its councillors, and the officials it oversees in local councils around the country. The Green Party has warned about the consequences and offered solutions. Today, in Galway and elsewhere, we are witnessing the disastrous effect that complacent, short-term policy-making can have on public health.”
April 30th, 2007, at 1:14 pm #Just to clarify a few issues .. per the constitution, Oireachtas �?ireann (the national parliament) has two chambers. Dáil �?ireann (the house of representatives or lower house) has 166 members, elected for a term of up to five years by the single transferable vote system in multi-seat constituencies.
Since the last election was held in 2002, Bertie had no choice but had to call another election before June 1st.
The fact that Christy’s campaign has started to put up posters before others just shows that the man is serious in his effeorts. Even Bernie Murphy (1980’s) got elected without restorting to this negative type of campaigning.
Debate the man on the issues or stand aside and let someone else represent the Green Party who will.
April 30th, 2007, at 1:18 pm #This is getting boring… Enda points out that “media will cherry pick articles or words that sell issues of their paper”. Quite right, but bloggers seem to have the same appetite. Thus this particular thread has attracted more than twice the number of comments as other threads on issues such as 98% of houses built in 2005 not meeting even our very basic building code, or burning waste (which only attracted 2 comments). So I wonder if this says as much about you as it does about me?
It is clearly a misjudgement on my part to put this out - not because I am wrong to challenge premature postering, but because I misjudged the response it would provoke.
I am more than happy to debate a wide range of issues with Christy and have already done so on the radio, will do so at an IFA meeting on 10th May, and would have done so on climate change tonight at the Westlodge except he isn’t coming.
Lastly, the constitution says seven years, not five. If the constitutional challenge in relation to unequal representation amongst various constituencies were to succeed, the Dail would have had to hastily pass an Act allowing it to continue until such time as the constituency boundaries had been re-drawn. This was a very real possibility when I wrote that. I am not sure what would happen procedurally about this, now that the Dail has been dissolved. Anybody else know?
April 30th, 2007, at 1:35 pm #Ah shur, you brought it on yourself. I think it is called Karma
April 30th, 2007, at 10:55 pm #