Flagpoles for businesses in Ireland: company flags and the rules

Flags are a common part of business premises in Ireland: a row of flagpoles outside a hotel, banner flags at a car dealership, a company flag over the entrance of a factory in a business park. For a business, the rules come from three places: planning law, which treats a company flag as an advertisement; trade mark law, which protects the State emblems; and the guidelines on the National Flag when the tricolour flies alongside. Health and safety law applies to the work of changing the flags.

A company flag is an advertisement

The Planning and Development Regulations 2001 deal with company flags as advertisements, in Part 2 of Schedule 2. One exemption concerns flags directly:

A flagpole with a company flag in front of the building, a row of branded flagpoles, or banner flags on arms are not covered by this class. Under the Planning and Development Act 2000, development needs permission unless exempted. An Irish flagpole supplier states that in its experience a business flying branded flags most definitely needs planning permission, as this is branding. The council can give a section 5 declaration on whether a particular set-up is exempt; the process is described in the guide to installing a flagpole.

According to article 6 of the regulations, the exemptions for advertisements do not apply to an advertisement structure on a protected structure, or on the exterior of a structure in an architectural conservation area where it would materially affect the character of the area, with limited exceptions. In a Gaeltacht area, an exempt advertisement structure carries advertisements in Irish, or in Irish and other languages with prominence given to the Irish text and identical content in all versions.

The National Flag at work

Businesses fly the tricolour as well as their own flags. According to the guidelines of the Department of the Taoiseach:

• the National Flag is in the place of honour, first on the right of the line (the observer’s left)
• no flag or pennant is flown above the National Flag
• only one National Flag is displayed in each group of flags
• when the National Flag is at half-mast, no other flag is flown
• the National Flag is never defaced by slogans, logos, lettering or pictures

A company that wants the tricolour and its logo together therefore flies them on separate poles. The order of flags is explained in the guide to flag protocol, and flags of other countries, common at hotels and multinationals, in the guide to foreign flags in Ireland.

The harp and the shamrock

The harp and the shamrock are the official State emblems of Ireland. According to the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, a person or company that wants to use a State emblem in connection with any business, or to register a trade mark containing one, first obtains consent from the Minister under the Trade Marks Act 1996. There is no formal application form; requests go in writing or by email to the Department’s Intellectual Property Unit and are considered case by case. The Minister can act against unauthorised use in the course of business. A company flag with a harp therefore needs more than a designer. The emblems are described in the guide to flags of Ireland.

Banner flags and lighting

Motor dealerships and retail parks often use banner flags on rotating arms, usually on hinged-base poles so the flags can be changed with the pole lying on the ground. Lit flags draw attention after dark, and the regulations limit the area of illuminated advertisements in several of their classes. More in the guide to flag lighting.

Changing the flags

Company flags wear out, and many businesses have them changed on a schedule. FlagPoles Ireland offers a flag maintenance programme for corporate clients, with flag changes fortnightly, monthly or quarterly, which removes the need for the business to hire equipment for work at height.

When employees change the flags, the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations 2007 apply. According to the Health and Safety Authority, employers do all that is reasonably practicable to prevent falls, and work at height is avoided where reasonably practicable, with equipment used to prevent falls where it is not. A hinged-base pole or an internal halyard that works from the ground keeps most of the work at ground level. More in the guide to flagpole safety.

Several poles

Hotels and business parks often have a row of poles. FlagPoles Ireland recommends at least 2 metres between flagpoles so the flags do not touch the neighbouring pole, and a flag size matched to the pole height; the chart is in the guide to flag sizes.