Storm over cable ties left on lamp-posts after elections
By Mary Dennehy
SOUTH Dublin County Council extended the timeframe for the removal of election posters due to Storm Dennis at the weekend.
However, Storm Dennis wasn’t the only thing raging in recent days, as locals once again questioned the need for election posters – especially, after a number of cable ties were spotted on a lamp-post in Tallaght village.
Cable ties spotted in Tallaght village
Candidates and parties had until Saturday, February 15, to remove all of their posters, including cable ties – and despite stormy conditions, teams were spotted out and about removing posters.
However, when contacted by The Echo this week, the council said that due to the impact of Storm Dennis, which brought gusts of 120km/h, it granted an extension to the deadline for the removal of election posters until midnight on Tuesday, February 18.
The council stressed that they also request that all cable ties are also removed at the time of taking down posters.
While the debate continues about the impact of election posters and, most importantly, the environmental impact of them, the use of plastic cable ties has also come under scrutiny.
Suggestions have been made that if cable ties are used the name of each party or candidate should be printed on them.
Cable ties discarded around the base of a pole on the Castletymon Road
Last Thursday, Tallaght Community Council (TCC) snapped a picture of a lamp post in Tallaght with a number of cable ties still affixed, while another local resident photographed a number of cable ties discarded around the base of a pole on the Castletymon Road.
In early February, The Echo conducted an online poll, in which we asked: “Do election posters help you decide who you will vote for in an election?”
After 24 hours of voting, and 5,001 votes cast, 96 per cent of respondents said ‘No’, election posters do not help them decide on who they will vote for.
Commenting on the online poll, many people called for the banning of election posters, citing environmental impacts among their reasons.
