CAMPAIGN POSTERS:MINISTER FOR Finance Brian Lenihan has defended the use of so-called "personalised" posters by different parties in the Lisbon Treaty referendum campaign.
However, he stressed such posters should highlight the message rather than the individual. Parties on both sides in the referendum have been displaying posters with large photographs of individual politicians, clearly seeking to use the occasion to promote their political ambitions.
Mr Lenihan said, in his own case, "I'm a very small feature of the poster compared to the word Yes".
"It is important in the posters that the word Yes should be the prominent word, and Europe should be referred to. People like to see personalities as well as slogans, and there's a balance to be struck on this."
He added: "There's no harm in having some personal association with it, though I'd have to say that, whatever about national personalities and Dáil personalities who are very well known in their constituencies, it's not an opportunity for campaigning space for the next local government elections, and there's a bit of that going on as well.
"But people know people, and politics without flesh and blood can be a very dull business, and you can't criticise someone for wanting to associate their name with a particular point of view," said Mr Lenihan, speaking at the launch of a Fianna Fáil "admobile", an advertising trailer for the treaty, outside his department on Merrion Street, Dublin, yesterday.
Meanwhile, Richard Greene, spokesman for the anti-Lisbon group Cóir, said the use of personalised posters by parties on the Yes side was serving to reduce support for the treaty.
Criticising Labour and Fine Gael in particular, he said: "They've used their referendum posters as an electioneering tool, and made no attempt to address the issues.
"It's indicative of their contempt for their electorate."
He attributed the improved standing of the No side that is evident in poll results to "the hard work of volunteers campaigning hard on the No side, and the intelligence of the Irish voter who were able to discern the fatal flaws in the Lisbon Treaty".
Mr Greene said Luas adverts, a YouTube feature and more posters would boost the No campaign again in the days to come.
Volunteers would be meeting voters at doorsteps, on the way to work, in shopping areas and "anywhere we can grab the opportunity to talk to people about the key flaws in this treaty".