PEOPLE with ladders will shortly be out on the streets in an attempt to keep the Taoiseach on the right side of the law.
It follows a complaint to the Garda that the Taoiseach, Mr Bruton, was in breach of the Electoral Act because Fine Gael had displayed election posters which did not feature the printer's name.
Fine Gael is now printing stickers giving the printer's details, which are to be affixed to every offending Fine Gael poster. The party said, this had been organised before the complaint.
Party headquarters said there had bean no intention to breach the 1992 Electoral Act, which says: "every notice, bill, poster or similar document having reference to a Dail election or distributed for the purpose of furthering the candidature of any candidate at a Dail election shall bear upon its face the name and address of the printer and of the publisher thereof". The Act threatens up to three months in jail or a fine of up to £2,500 for transgressions.
The complaint came from a Tallaght resident, Mr Jim Barry. Asked if he had any political affiliations, Mr Barry said he was a former Fianna Fail councillor and still a member of the party, but added this had nothing to do with his complaint. "If they bring in laws, they should implement them themselves," he said.