General Election candidates and their support teams have been warned that they will be prosecuted if any individual is found trespassing on Iarnród Éireann property to erect election posters.
Iarnród Éireann has said it would welcome any information that would identify these persons so that they report then and seek prosecutions.
The company has described the practice of individuals climbing onto live railway lines and bridges to erect posters, as reckless and dangerous.
While many opt for the relative safety of roadside power and telecommunications poles and road signs, others have been taking their lives in their hands by climbing onto operational railway lines to hang placards from bridges.
Posters have been appearing on rail bridges across the country indicating the candidates or their supports have been trespassing on Iarnród Éireann property.
In Ennis, candidates or their support team members either climbed onto the Ennis to Galway rail line or placed ladders on the busy R352 and stopped traffic to erect their posters.
However, Iarnród Éireann does not permit election candidates place posters on any of it’s properties and has said that any posters will be removed immediately.
An Iarnród Éireann spokeswoman said: “Displaying of election posters on any Iarnród Éireann property, including bridges, is not permitted.”
“In the case of bridges, it is clear that trespass of some kind has been involved. We would welcome any information so we could report this and seek prosecutions. It would be the individuals involved who we would pursue, though we would alert any party or candidate featured on the issue,” the company said.
Iarnród Éireann has also warned the people should not climb back onto bridges to remove the posters.
“We will remove any such posters at the earliest opportunity, as to get candidates to do it would involve repeating the trespass,” the spokeswoman added.
“We would advise all candidates and parties to advise their agents that they are trespassing by placing these signs on the bridge, putting themselves and others in danger, and are liable to prosecution,” Iarnród Éireann added.
Meanwhile, the Road Safety Authority (RSA) has already warned that election posters should not be placed at the roadside in such a way that they obscure road signs.
The RSA has also said that posters should not be placed in known collision prone zones, where they risk distracting drivers and where campaign workers may be at risk when putting them up.