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James MacDermott: Knowing where your TD lives does not mean you can picket their home

People have a right to protest but politicians have a right to feel safe. However, removing the addresses of candidates from ballot papers is not necessarily the solution

Green Party TD Patrick Costello has proposed the removal of addresses from ballot papers on grounds that it poses a “significant safety risk” to politicians. Picture: Rollingnews

‘We know where you live’ has always been considered more of a threat than a compliment but despite this in Ireland, the address of a candidate appears beside their name on the ballot paper for local, European and general elections.

However, this may change following a proposal by Green Party TD Patrick Costello to remove addresses that pose a “significant safety risk” to politicians. This very real danger was highlighted recently with demonstrations taking place ...