Dublin city retailers will have to apply for a licence to put sandwich boards on footpaths as the council looks to combat "street clutter".
Senior council official Kevin Meade told Dublin City Council's transportation committee that the authority proposes charging users an annual fee of €630 for a licence, which would act as a deterrent.
On top of that annual fee, retailers would also have to pay a once-off application fee of €100.
The boards are already banned on Grafton Street and O'Connell Street.
City manager Owen Keegan had previously demanded that there should be "zero tolerance" of any business found using unauthorised advertising stands or street furniture, the Times Ireland edition reports.
And four extra inspectors have been taken on to enforce the rules.
The authority fears that so-called A boards or sandwich boards can pose a risk to the public - especially to people with disabilities.
Mr Meade told the committee: "They have sprung up everywhere."
However, several DCC councillors felt that the idea of a licence didn't go far enough, with Fine Gael's Kieran Binchy calling for an outright ban of the boards on any footpaths under two metres in width.
However, Mr Meade said the council was aware that for some businesses - particularly those on first floors without no ground-level frontage - A boards were a "valuable asset".
Last year the Restaurants Association of Ireland accused the local authority of "going on an anti-tourism rampage" when referring to the council's plans to curb advertising stands.
