Letter to the Minister for Justice 20th March 2009

Dear Minister
You are no doubt aware that the Printing Industry in the Republic of Ireland are feeling the recession as much as other Industries. In recent months redundancies have had to be made, while others are on a 3-day week due to the downturn in printing requirements. However, it has also been noted that a large quantity of printing contracts are been sent abroad for Printing due to major problems with the tendering process which only seems to apply to the Irish Printers and I believe a lack of knowledge within the OPW. While I appreciate this does not fall within your remit, I would like to draw to your attention something that should be of concern to you and your departmental responsibilities.

We have a by-election in my area to coincide with the European elections. You should be aware that there are election materials appearing and delivered to homes in many areas which do not have an Imprint to indicate the publisher and the name and address of the printers who printed this material. I have recently drawn this to the attention of a Fianna Fail TD and a labour Senator who state they were not aware of the following:-

  • Under the sedition laws of Henry VIII transferred to Irish law in 1922 all political material must bear an imprint.
  • All newspapers must have one.
  • All books and magazines must have one.
The election material for the last general election did not carry either, in some area if not all

In the 1951 Edition of the Printers Guide (An Irish Annual Publication) it states the following:-

  • It is illegal to print electioneering, Poster, Handbills, Leaflets, Cards, etc. without the PRINTERS and PUBLISHERS IMPRINT...Penalty £100 (a lot of money in 1951)
  • It is illegal to Print Books, Magazines etc. Without the Printers Imprint, Penalty £25 for first offence and £50 for two or more.
  • It is illegal to aid the Printer to issue in any form a Book or Paper without his Imprint. (I wonder does this mean the Machine man, Guillotine Operator, Van Driver etc) The Publishers name and address are insufficient.
  • Letters, Invoices, Statements, Business Cards are exceptions,
    • Revised Election UK directive July 2004

    Imprint

    • All posters, placards and bills which make reference to the election must carry an imprint detailing the name and address of the printer and the publisher of the material on its face.
    • Similarly, all printed material distributed for the purpose of promoting or procuring the election of a candidate must also carry the name and address of the printer
    Candidates at elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly 2006

    Campaign publicity material

    • Campaign publicity material is subject to a number of restrictions under electoral law, and is also subject to the general civil and criminal law relating to published material.
    • All posters, placards and bills which refer to the election must carry an imprint on their face giving the name and address of the printer and publisher of the material. This also applies to all printed material distributed for the purpose of promoting or procuring the election of a candidate.

    I am sure your civil servants can advise you if the law still stands in which case Political Parties are breaking the law. The law may also mean that book shops are also breaking the law if they have magazines and books on their shelves bearing no imprint, would have to remove them off their shelves immediately. If they want to avoid this happening perhaps they could get their local printer to overprint all this work with a sticker with the printers name and address who actually printed the job . This would have the advantage of identifying where the work is printed and where, in the case of Politicians canvassing for votes, where their loyalties lay.

    I am in constant contact with approx 1100 printers representing over 12,000 employed in the Industry which has a potential clout of perhaps in the region of 100,000 when families and friends are enlightened. I am sure they would be very interested, as I am, to your response and perhaps a re-assurance that this law in the Republic of Ireland has been rescinded, or if it has not be rescinded, what your next course of action will be.

    Yours sincerely

    Terry Cummins
    92 Taney Crescent
    Goatstown
    Dublin 14

    Letter Ends ==============================================




    Additional information supplied by our legal Eagle in Navan


    Report on the administration of Election Campaigns in Wales 1st May 2008

    5.38 At the local elections in 2008, campaigning was very local in nature with no noticeable national advertising by parties. Street placards were the main visible signs of campaigning and the prevalence of these was variable. It was largely a campaign of election leaflets, which themselves became the focus for many queries and complaints from candidates during the election period.

    5.39 It was also the case that in a number of areas, local contests were hard fought and sometimes became bitter. Returning Officers and Electoral Services Managers commented that some candidates fought ‘dirty’ campaigns and a number of allegations were referred to the police for investigation. Imprints on election material

    5.40 During the election campaign period, we received many queries from candidates and local activists about the imprint requirements that apply to election publicity. All election publicity must carry an imprint with details of the full name and full postal address of the printer and promoter of the material. Despite the briefings provided by political parties to their candidates and the advice contained in our Guidance for candidates and agents, there were a number of errors with imprints, as well as allegations that some election publicity materials carried no imprint. Sometimes these allegations were linked with further allegations that the material was false or defamatory. 20 South Wales Guardian 7 May 2008.

    5.41 The intention of the imprint requirements is to enable anyone to contact or trace the source of the material, for example, in case of any issue about its content. A breach of the imprint requirements is potentially a criminal offence and a complaint has to be made to the police. In practice, minor issues were addressed between the four main political parties where they were involved without need for recourse to the police.

    5.42 Nevertheless, there were some instances of relatively serious imprint offences that warranted referral to the police, which are under investigation.

    5.43 Towards the end of the election campaign period, we also received a number of queries that revealed an erroneous belief amongst some candidates and agents that an imprint offence was a legitimate cause to question the result of an election.

    5.44 The main political parties in Wales gave us feedback about the clarity of advice provided in the Commission’s Guidance for candidates and agents. They were concerned that some of the guidance was potentially confusing for candidates and agents, and requested that the Commission revisit the section of the guidance in question.