Madam, - European and local elections have come and gone, and we all wonder what the fuss was all about.
The smiling happy faces of present and would-be politicians that adorned inanimate objects such as telegraph poles, lay-by signs, electricity lamp standards etc. have gone and will not be seen again until some future tribunal.
But alas, we are reminded on a constant basis by ugly plastic objects, which were used to retain the posters bearing the smiling happy faces.
As anyone who has observed the fitting of these posers will verify, they are fitted with the precision of a surgeon to achieve optimum effect, and removed with the finesse of a gurrier because of post-election penalties.
There is also evidence of the previous metal straps, which were the forerunner to the last innovation that have been used for 10 years or more.
I have recently observed a tag, which has been affected by the weather and has fallen to the base of one of the narrower poles, and is a potential danger to a small child.
These left-over items are an unsightly disgrace and should be classed as environmental waste and treated accordingly.
There is a simple solution to the problem. All city and rural councils remove the tags, place them in a large container and count them.
A charge of 15 cents should apply to every tag that is collected, which is then divided equally amongst all the candidates who ran in each constituency in the last 10 years. - Yours, etc.,
FRED DOYLE, Templeogue Road, Terenure, Dublin 6.