Dublin council is allowed to remove group’s posters

Dublin City Council (DCC) may remove posters erected by a group that wants the Constitution amended to allow referendums to be triggered by the signatures of 75,000 voters, following a High Court ruling.

The President of the High Court, Mr Justice Peter Kelly, refused to grant The Reinstate 48 Initiative (R48) an injunction against the removal of the posters, pending the outcome of their full action.

Mr Justice Kelly, who said the group’s aim was a perfectly legitimate one, said the six different types of posters erected by the group in the DCC area “fell foul” of electoral laws as they did not relate to the general election.

Having examined the six posters individually, Mr Justice Kelly said they did not mention the election, candidates or constituencies.

The posters “did not exhort anybody to vote for any person or party”, he said.

The judge ruled the court could not grant an injunction restraining removal of the posters, pending the full action.

The group could put up posters as long as they were relevant to the election and complied with the electoral laws, he said.

The ruling means DCC is entitled to remove the posters put up by the group should it choose to do so.

R48 group

The R48 group wants to restore Article 48 of the 1922 Irish Free State constitution, which allowed referendums be called once 50,000 signatures were gathered.

Article 48 was removed in 1928 and was not included in the 1937 Constitution.

The proceedings were brought by the group's chairman, Stephen Mulcahy, of Sandford Road, Ranelagh, Dublin.

A date for the full hearing will be fixed at a later date.