European Parliament Elections Act 1997

PART I Preliminary and General

1. Short title collective citation, construction and commencement.

1.—(1)This Act may be cited as the European Parliament Elections Act, 1997.

(2)Parts II, III, IV and XXIII of and the Second Schedule to the Act of 1992, so far as they relate to European elections and European electors, and this Act may be cited together as the European Parliament Elections Acts, 1992 to 1997, and shall be construed together as one Act.

(3)This Act shall come into operation on such day or days as may be fixed therefor by order or orders of the Minister either generally or with reference to any particular purpose or provision and different days may be so fixed for different purposes and different provisions of this Act.

(4)An order made under subsection (3) shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made.

2. Interpretation.

2.—(1)In this Act—

“the Act of 1992” means the Electoral Act, 1992;

F1[“chief returning officer” has the meaning assigned to it bysection 15A;]

“competent administrative authority” in relation to a Member State means the competent administrative authority designated by that Member State for the purposes of F2[Articles 6, 7 and 13] of the Directive;

“county” means an administrative county;

“Dáil” means Dáil Éireann;

F2[“Directive” means Council Directive 93/109/EC of 6 December 1993^2laying down detailed arrangements for the exercise of the right to vote and stand as a candidate in elections to the European Parliament for citizens of the Union residing in a Member State of which they are not nationals, as amended by Council Directive 2013/1/EU of 20 December 2012 amending Directive 93/109/EC as regards certain detailed arrangements for the exercise of the right to stand as a candidate in elections to the European Parliament for citizens of the Union residing in a Member State of which they are not nationals;]

“election” means an election of representatives to the European Parliament;

“the European Communities” has the same meaning as in the European Communities Acts, 1972 to 1995;

“European election” has the meaning assigned to it by section 7;

“European elector” means a person who is entitled to vote at a European election;

“excluded day” has the meaning given to it by rule 150 of the Second Schedule;

“home Member State” in relation to any person means the Member State of which the person is a national;

“local returning officer” means a person who pursuant to section 17(1) is a local returning officer for the purpose of this Act and includes a deputy or acting local returning officer pursuant to that section;

“Member State” means a Member State of the European Communities;

“the Minister” means the Minister for the Environment;

“non-party candidate” means a candidate who is not the candidate of a registered political party;

“the Parliament” means the Parliament of the European Communities;

“petition” means a petition presented to the High Court under this Act;

“the polling day”, except where the context otherwise requires, has the meaning assigned to it by section 10(1);

“the postal voters list” means the list prepared pursuant to section 14 of the Act of 1992 so far as it relates to European electors;

“registered political party” means a party which pursuant to section 25 of the Act of 1992 is for the time being registered in the Register of Political Parties as a party organised to contest a European election;

F3[“relevant postal service provider” has the meaning assigned to it by section 61 of the Communications Regulation (Postal Services) Act 2011;]

“replacement candidate” means a replacement candidate for the purposes of this Act;

“replacement candidates list” has the meaning assigned to it by rule 17 of the Second Schedule;

“returning officer” means a person who is appointed by the Minister under section 16(1) to be a returning officer for the purposes of this Act;

“Seanad” means Seanad Éireann;

“the special voters list” means the list prepared pursuant to section 17 of the Act of 1992 so far as it relates to European electors;

“the treaties” means the treaties governing the European Communities (within the meaning of section 1 (as amended, whether before or after the passing of this Act) of the European Communities Act, 1972);

(2)In this Act—

(a)a reference to a section, Schedule or part of a Schedule is to a section of or a Schedule or part of a Schedule to this Act, unless it is indicated that reference to some other enactment is intended;

(b)a reference to a subsection, paragraph, subparagraph or rule is to a subsection, paragraph, subparagraph or rule of the provision (including a Schedule) in which the reference occurs, unless it is indicated that reference to some other provision is intended;

(c)a reference to any enactment shall be construed as a reference to that enactment as amended, adapted or extended by or under any subsequent enactment including this Act.

3. Regulations.

3.—(1)The Minister may make regulations prescribing any matter or thing which is referred to in this Act as prescribed.

(2)Every regulation made under this Act shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made and, if a resolution annulling the regulation is passed by either such House within the next twenty-one days on which that House has sat after the regulation is laid before it, the regulation shall be annulled accordingly but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.

4. Expenses.

4.—(1)The expenses incurred by the Minister in the administration of this Act shall, to such extent as may be F4[sanctioned by the Minister for Finance with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform], be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

(2)The expenses incurred by reason of this Act by F5[a relevant postal service provider] (whether such expenses relate to the exercise by candidates of the right of free postage conferred by rule 22 of the Second Schedule or are otherwise so incurred in relation to a European election) shall, to such extent as may be sanctioned by the Minister for Finance, be paid out of the Central Fund or the growing produce thereof.

5. Repeals.

5.—The enactments mentioned in Part I of the First Schedule are hereby repealed, and the regulations mentioned in Part II of the said Schedule are hereby revoked, to the extent specified in the third column of that Schedule.

PART II Elections

6. Registration of European electors.

6.—(1)Subject to subsection (3), a person referred to in section 9 of the Act of 1992, who is a national of a Member State other than the State , shall not be entitled to be registered as a European elector in a constituency unless such person—

(a)applies to be so registered by completing an application paper in the form directed by the Minister, and

(b)furnishes to the registration authority a statutory declaration stating—

(i)the nationality of the person,

(ii)the address in the State at which the person is ordinarily resident,

(iii)where applicable, the locality or constituency in the person's home Member State on the electoral roll of which the person's name was last entered, and

(iv)the intention of such person to exercise the right to vote at a European election in the State only.

F6[(1A) It shall be lawful for a member of the Garda Síochána or an official of the registration authority to take and receive a statutory declaration referred to insubsection (1).]

(2)Where a registration authority receives a statutory declaration referred to in subsection (1) it shall, as soon as may be, forward a copy of the declaration to the Minister who shall transmit such copy to the competent administrative authority of the home Member State of the person to whom the said declaration relates.

(3)Subsection (1) shall not apply in relation to any person who was registered as a European elector in a constituency in a register of electors which came into force in the year 1994 including any supplement thereto published under section 15 of the Act of 1992.

(4)Where a citizen of Ireland applies to be entered on the electoral roll in the Member State, other than the State or the United Kingdom, in which the citizen resides, the Minister shall, on the request of the competent administrative authority of the Member State concerned, furnish to the said authority such relevant information available to the Minister as would indicate whether the citizen has the right to vote at an election in the State.

7. Method of election.

7.—(1)Elections of representatives to the Parliament shall be held and each such election (in this Act referred to as “a European election”) shall be conducted in accordance with this Act, and in case a European election is contested, the poll shall be taken according to the principle of proportional representation, each elector having one transferable vote.

(2)Voting at a European election shall be by secret ballot.

(3)In this section “transferable vote” means a vote which is—

(a)capable of being given so as to indicate the voter's preference for the candidates in order, and

(b)capable of being transferred to the next choice when the vote is not required to give a prior choice the necessary quota of votes, or when, owing to the deficiency in the number of the votes given for a prior choice, that choice is excluded from the list of candidates.

8. Right to vote.

8.—Subject to rule 72 of the Second Schedule, every person whose name is on the register of European electors for the time being in force for a constituency, and no other person, shall be entitled to vote at the poll at a European election in that constituency.

9. Manner of voting.

9.—(1)Subject to subsections (2) and (3), a person who is entitled to vote at a European election shall be entitled to vote in person only and at the polling station allotted to him or her, or, in case the person is authorised under rule 60 or 61 of the Second Schedule by a local returning officer, at the polling station specified in the authorisation.

(2)Every European elector whose name is, at the time of a European election, in the postal voters list for a county or county borough or any part thereof situate in a constituency shall be entitled to vote in that constituency at the poll at such election by sending the ballot paper by post to the local returning officer for that county or county borough and shall not be entitled to vote in any other manner.

(3)Every European elector whose name is, at the time of a European election, in the special voters list for a county or county borough or any part thereof situate in a constituency shall be entitled to vote in that constituency at the poll at such election in accordance with rule 45 of the Second Schedule and shall not be entitled to vote in any other manner.

10. Polling day and commencement of count.

10.—(1)The poll at a European election shall—

(a)be taken on such day as shall be appointed by the Minister by order (which order shall be made not less than F8[sixty days] before the day thereby appointed), and

(b)shall continue for such period, not being less than twelve hours, between the hours of F9[7 a.m.] and 10.30 p.m. as may be appointed by the said order, subject to the restriction that the same day and the same period shall be so appointed for all constituencies,

and the day so appointed is in this Act referred to as “the polling day”.

F10[(1A) Notwithstandingsubsection (1)(b), where the Minister is of the opinion that due to local circumstances concerning an island, and taking account of advice from the returning officer for the constituency in which the island is situated, it would be unnecessary or impracticable for the poll to continue on the island for the period appointed by the Minister by order undersubsection (1)(b), the Minister may by order, not later than the seventh day before polling day, shorten the period of the poll on the island.

(1B) A poll the subject of an order undersubsection (1A)shall continue on the island for not less than 4 hours.

(1C) Insubsection (1A), “local circumstances” includes:

(a) the number of European electors on the island;

(b) the distance between a polling station on the island and the place appointed for the verification of ballot paper accounts underrule 73(2)of theSecond Schedule;

(c) advance forecasts of stress of weather;

(d) foreseen transport difficulties.]

(2)The counting of the votes at a European election shall begin on the day and at the time appointed by the Minister by order.

(3)An order under this section shall be published in Iris Oifigiúil as soon as may be after it is made.

10A. F11[Advance polling.

10A.—(1) Notwithstandingsection 10, the Minister may, in the public interest and where it is necessary to do so having regard to the immediate, exceptional and serious risk posed to human life and public health by a pandemic or by Covid-19 and with the consent of An Coimisiún Toghcháin, make an order providing that, in addition to the poll provided for undersection 10—

(a) in one or more constituencies, an advance poll may be taken on the day before the day appointed by the Minister undersection 10, and

(b) a poll referred to inparagraph (a)shall continue for such period, not being less than twelve hours, between the hours of 7 a.m. and 10.30 p.m.

(2) An order under this section shall be published inIris Oifigiúilas soon as may be after it is made.

(3) The returning officer in a constituency to which an order undersubsection (1)applies shall give public notice of the day on which, and the hours during which, the advance poll provided for by that order shall be taken.

(4) In this section—

“Covid-19” means a disease caused by infection with the virus SARS-CoV-2 and specified as an infectious disease in accordance with Regulation 6 of, and the Schedule to, the Infectious Diseases Regulations 1981 (S.I. No. 390 of 1981) or any variant of the disease so specified as an infectious disease in those Regulations;

“pandemic” means an outbreak of disease—

(a) occurring worldwide or over a very wide area, crossing international boundaries and affecting a large number of people, and

(b) which has been declared by the World Health Organisation to be a pandemic.]

11. Eligibility for election to and membership of the Parliament.

11.—(1)Subject to the following subsections of this section, every person who has reached the age of 21 years F12[on polling day or, if there is no polling day in relation to the constituency concerned by reason of the operation ofRule 23(1)(b), the day which is polling day generally throughout the State in relation to the election concerned] and is either—

(a)a citizen of Ireland, or

(b)a national of a Member State other than the State and ordinarily resident in the State,

shall be eligible for election under this Act to be a representative in the Parliament and for nomination under this Act as a replacement candidate.

(2)A person shall not be eligible under subsection (1) if the person—

(a)is subject to any of the disqualifications applicable to membership of the Dáil referred to in F13[paragraphs (f) to (j)] of section 41 of the Act of 1992, or

(b)holds office as a Judge or as the Comptroller and Auditor General, or

(c)being a citizen of Ireland, is a candidate at the relevant election in a Member State other than the State, or

F14[(d)being a national of a Member State other than the StateF15[…], stands deprived, as a result of an individual judicial decision, or an administrative decision that may be subject to judicial remedies, of the right to stand as a candidate under the law of that person’s home Member State, or]

F16[(e) is a Minister of the Government, or

(f) is a member of the Government of another Member State, or

(g) is a member of the Commission of the European Communities, or

(h) is a Judge, Advocate-General or Registrar of the Court of Justice of the European Communities or the Court of First Instance attached to that Court, or

(i) is a member of the Board of Directors of the European Central Bank, or

(j) is a member of the Court of Auditors of the European Communities, or

(k) is the Ombudsman of the European Communities, or

(l) is a member of the Economic and Social Committee of the European Community and the European Atomic Energy Community, or

(m) is a member of a committee or other body established pursuant to the Treaties establishing the European Community and the European Atomic Energy Community for the purpose of managing the Communities' funds or performing a permanent direct administrative task, or

(n) is a member of the Board of Directors, Management Committee or the staff of the European Investment Bank, or

(o) is an active official or servant of—

(i) any of the institutions of the European Communities,

(ii) any of the specialised bodies attached to those institutions, or

(iii) the European Central Bank.]

F17[(3) Where a citizen of Ireland proposes to stand as a candidate at an election in the Member State, other than the StateF15[…], in which the citizen resides, the Minister (who shall be the competent administrative authority for the State) shall, as soon as practicable and not later than five working days after receipt of notification from a Member State of a declaration made by that citizen referred to in Article 10(1) of the Directive, furnish to the Member State any information available to the Minister indicating whether the citizen stands deprived, as a result of an individual judicial decision, or an administrative decision that may be subject to judicial remedies, of the right to stand as a candidate under the law of the State.]

F18[(4) (a) A person who is elected under this Act to be a representative in the Parliament, and who when so elected, holds office as—

(i) the Attorney General,

(ii) the Chairman or Deputy Chairman of the Dáil or the Chairman or Deputy Chairman of the Seanad, or

(iii) a Minister of State,

shall, on such election and no later than taking up his or her seat in the Parliament, on the date specified by the Parliament for the taking up of such seats, cease to hold that office.

(b) A person who pursuant tosection 19of this Act is to be regarded as having been elected to be a representative in the Parliament or when he or she commences to be so regarded holds office as—

(i) the Attorney General,