They are on every lamp post we pass and there is no escaping the grinning faces of election candidates as they look at us through the bus window or on the walk to college.

Everyone can picture a candidate whose face has stuck in their mind because they have seen them 20 or more times day after day.

Psychological influence

Seeing people’s faces can influence the voter’s choice in a way that is referred to as the ‘recognition factor'. The more frequently voters see the face of a prospective candidate the more likely they are to recognise them on the ballot paper on election day having formed positive feelings towards them.

How much are political parties spending? 

Unfortunately we can only find out how much a political party has spent on a campaign once the election is over.

How do we know that there is a fair election campaign when the Standards in Public Office (Sipo) commission doesn’t know how much a party has spent on election posters until eight weeks after the election?

All we can go on is the expenditure of the political parties in the

[  2011 general electionOpens in new window ]

listed on the SIPO website:

In 2011 Fine Gael had an overall poster spend of €178,128 according to the Sipo records, Fianna Fáil spent €204,114 and Sinn Féin spent €19,514. Labour are estimated to have spent €262,500 on posters during this election which works out at €7,292 per candidate.

Laws against overspending

There are limits on how much candidates can spend. The limits are listed on the Sipo website: for a 3 seat constituency the limit is €30.150, for a 4 seat constituency it is €37,650 and for a 5 seat constituency it is €45,200. It is a criminal offence to spend over the limit on an election campaign and candidates can be fined up to €2,500.

However, there are no specific requirements or limits on how much parties can spend on posters.

How much are political parties spending on posters so that we can see their candidates smiling faces hundreds of times every day? We don’t find out until April so don’t let Joan’s extra make-up or Gerry’s cheeky grin steer your vote!