An Bord Pleanála has opened a hearing today into plans by Dublin City Council to swap free bicycles for advertising space around the city.
The proposal is part of a deal between Dublin City Council and international advertising agency JC Decaux that will see the agency provide up to 500 free bicycles to the city in return for permission to erect the billboards at key locations.
This includes 70 free standing boards that could be up to seven square metres in size and 50 smaller boards. The larger billboards may be lit up at night and could carry moving images.
The oral hearing, which is expected to last about four days, will look at 25 out of 120 applications for billboard sites throughout Dublin. The decision has caused some concern, with An Taisce urging the body to examine each proposed site equally.
There has also been speculation that the agency is offering other cities better deals. Paris is getting 20,600 bicycles in return for 1,628 billboards, while Lyon is getting 3,000 bicycles.
The details of the deal have not been made public, with Dublin City Council claiming "commercial sensitivity" for not releasing these.