Unauthorised Postering banned in Dublin Area

dublin | rights, freedoms and repression | news report Monday March 01, 2004 14:22 by David

Under the guise of the Protection of the Environment Act 1997, No posters will be allowed in the Dublin area unless prior approval is granted by the Dublin City Council or they are relating to an official Election campaign.

Ironically this environment protection legislation will prohibit local activist groups from advertising events aimed at protecting the Environment.

The Usual suspects have all condenmed this attack on freedom and civil liberties, some claiming that they will fight any fines in the courts.

Litter pollution act 1997
19.—(1) Where any structure or other land, door, gate, window, tree, pole or post is in or is visible from a public place, a person who is not the owner, occupier or person in charge thereof shall not—

( a ) exhibit or cause to be exhibited thereon any article or advertisement, or
( b ) carry out or cause to be carried out any defacement thereof by writing or other marks,
unless the person is authorised in advance to do so in writing by such owner, occupier or person in charge or by or under any enactment.

(2) A person shall not place advertising material on a mechanically propelled vehicle in a public place without the prior consent of the person who owns, or is in charge of, the vehicle.

(3) Without limiting the liability of any other person under subsection (1) or (2), where there is a contravention of that subsection in relation to—

( a ) an advertisement that pertains to a meeting or other event, the person who is promoting or arranging the meeting or event, or
( b ) any other advertisement, the person on whose behalf the advertisement is exhibited,
shall be deemed also to have contravened that subsection.

(4) A local authority may, on such terms and conditions as may be agreed upon by it and the occupier concerned, in the case of an article, advertisement or defacement in its functional area in relation to which there is a contravention of subsection (1)—

( a ) by its employees or agents, remove or obliterate all or a part of the article or advertisement or, as the case may be, remove or otherwise remedy the defacement, and
( b ) for those purposes, by its employees or agents, enter on the structure or other land concerned or the structure or other land on which is situated the door, gate, window, tree, pole or post concerned.
(5) In a prosecution of a person in relation to a contravention of subsection (1) it shall not be necessary for the prosecution to show and it shall be assumed, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, that the person was not the owner, occupier or person in charge of the structure or other land, door, gate, window, tree, pole or post to which the contravention relates and was not authorised as referred to in subsection (1).

(6) A person who contravenes or is deemed to have contravened subsection (1) or (2) or who obstructs or impedes a local authority or its employees or agents acting in the exercise of the functions conferred on a local authority by subsection (4) shall be guilty of an offence.

(7) A prosecution shall not be brought in a case in which an offence under this section is alleged to have been committed in relation to an advertisement if—

( a ) the advertisement is exempted development within the meaning of the Local Government (Planning and Development) Act, 1963, or is a notice displayed or erected in pursuance of a requirement by or under any enactment, or
( b ) the advertisement—
(i) advertises a public meeting, other than an auction, or
(ii) relates to a presidential election within the meaning of the Presidential Elections Act, 1993, a general election or a bye-election, within the meaning, in each case, of the Electoral Act, 1992, a local election within the meaning of the Local Government Act, 1994, a referendum, within the meaning of the Referendum Act, 1994, or an election of representatives to the Assembly of the European Communities,
unless the advertisement has been in position for 7 days or longer after the day specified in the advertisement for the meeting or the latest day upon which the poll was taken for the election, bye-election or referendum concerned.

(8) In this section and in section 20—

"occupier" in relation to a door, gate, window or tree, means the occupier of the structure or other land on which the door, gate, window or tree, as the case may be, is situated and, in relation to a pole or post, means the owner of the pole or post;

"structure" has the meaning assigned by the Local Government (Planning and Development) Act, 1963.