A Circuit Court judge has described the myriad of advertising and signposting for trips to the Aran Islands in Galway as "dangerous" and "distracting".
Judge Harvey Kenny told Clifden Circuit Court yesterday that tourists did not know where they were going with so many signs for the Aran Islands.
"This is all very dangerous and distracting for traffic because they are taking their eyes off the road and could be rear-ended."
The judge made his comments during a case taken by Galway County Council against Mr Paddy O'Brien, director of Island Ferries Teoranta, of Victoria Place, Galway, who had erected a temporary building selling tickets to the islands on the side of the road in Spiddal, which was deemed a traffic hazard.
Part of the council wall had also been removed.
Mr O'Brien, who has since reinstated the wall and removed the structure, gave an undertaking that he would not erect any advertising on any Galway County Council land without seeking planning permission.
Judge Kenny asked Mr O'Brien: "Could all of the operators out there not agree on one safe method of selling tickets without bartering on the roadside?"