Electoral (Amendment) Act 2001

Type Act

Publication 2001-10-24

State In force

Source Irish Statute Book

articles 58

45.—(1) Part XIX of the Principal Act, other than section 125, and subsections (2), (3) and (4) of section 118 shall apply to the counting of votes under this Part. Any reference in that Part XIX to a ballot paper or paper shall be construed as a reference to a vote cast on a voting machine or, in the case of a reference to postal or special voters ballot papers, a vote entered in a voting machine.

(2) Any reference to the functions referred to in sections 119 to 124 of the Principal Act, as applied to this Part, being performed by the returning officer shall, subject to subsection (6), be construed as a reference to the performance of those functions by electronic methods and, in particular, any reference in those sections to a parcel or sub-parcel of votes shall be construed as a reference to an analogous grouping together of votes by those methods and any reference in those sections to the physical treatment of, or a transfer being effected in respect of, such a parcel shall be construed as a reference to an analogous treatment of, or an analogous transfer being effected in respect of, such a parcel by those methods.

(3) Section 119(1) of the Principal Act, as so applied, shall have effect as if the reference in that section to section 114 were a reference to section 44 of this Act and the words “, rejecting any that are invalid,” were deleted.

(4) Section 127(2) of the Principal Act, as so applied, shall have effect as if the reference in that section to section 114(2) were a reference to section 44(3) of this Act.

(5) Section 128 of the Principal Act, as so applied, shall have effect as if the reference in that section to the decision of the returning officer in respect of any matter referred to therein were a reference to the results provided by the constituency vote counting machine in respect of that matter.

(6) Where it is necessary to decide a matter by determining it by lot, the returning officer shall cause the result of that determination by lot to be entered on the constituency vote counting machine.

46 Application of certain provisions of Principal Act.

46.—The provisions of sections 30, 31, 37, 40, 58, 60, 62 to 64, 66, 67, 72, 73, 75, 76, 85, 86, 88, 89, 91, 94, 103 to 105, 107 to 109, 111 to 113, 117, 129 to 131, 134, 137, 138, 150, 153, 161, 163 and 165 of the Principal Act shall, subject to the modifications specified in section 38, apply and have effect in relation to voting and vote counting under this Part.

47 Election petitions.

47.—Part XXI of, and the Third Schedule to, the Principal Act shall apply to voting and vote counting under this Part as if—

(a) in section 132(8) there were inserted “and the Electoral (Amendment) Act, 2001,” after “this Act”;

(b) in Rule 4(3) of the said Schedule there were inserted “or the Electoral (Amendment) Act, 2001,” after “this Act”, in each place where those words occur; and

“Counting of votes afresh.

7. (1) The court may, for the purposes of the trial of a petition questioning a Dáil election, if it thinks fit, order that all the votes cast on voting machines at the election in the constituency to which the petition relates shall be counted afresh. For the purpose of enabling such an order to be carried out, the software used for counting votes cast on voting machines shall include a capability of providing a table of the preferences recorded for each vote cast at the poll at the election, including the vote number referred to in section 44(4) and a separate record of each vote cast at the election, showing the preferences recorded on it, the vote number referred to in section 44(4) and, where applicable, the number of each count at which the vote was either transferred to the next available preference recorded on it or became a non-transferable vote not effective. (2) Where the court makes an order under paragraph (1), the provisions of the following paragraphs shall have effect. (3) Votes to which an order under this Rule relates shall be counted afresh under the direction of the court and, subject to paragraphs (4), (5) and (6) and to such modifications (if any) as the court considers necessary, the provisions of Part XIX, as applied by the Electoral (Amendment) Act, 2001, relating to the counting of votes at an election shall apply to such counting. (4) In counting the votes afresh pursuant to an order under this Rule, the count shall begin at the first count, without disturbing the mix carried out by the constituency vote counting machine prior to the original first count. (5) Where votes are counted afresh pursuant to an order under this Rule, the court shall cause the preferences recorded for any person who, with respect to the relevant Dáil election, is found by the court not to have been eligible for election to the Dáil to be disregarded or where the court decides that votes shall be added to, or removed from, the vote table referred to in section 44(4) the software shall be capable of so adding or removing votes so that there shall be a minimum disturbance to the mix carried out by the constituency vote counting machine prior to the original first count. (6) The court shall have power to reverse any decision of the returning officer at the original count. (7) The costs of giving effect to an order under this Rule shall be paid by the Minister for Finance out of the Central Fund or the growing produce thereof and section 32 shall, with respect to the services and expenses properly rendered or incurred by the returning officer for the purposes of, or in connection with, giving effect to the order, apply in the same manner as it applied in respect of the services and expenses rendered or incurred by the returning officer for, or in connection with, the relevant Dáil election.”.

48 Adaptation or modification of Acts relating to other elections and referendums.

48.—(1) Subject to subsection (3), the Minister may by order make such adaptations of, or modifications to, the Presidential Elections Act, 1993, the European Parliament Elections Act, 1997, the Local Elections Regulations, 1995, the Referendum Act, 1994, the Seanad Electoral (University Members) Act, 1937, and the Seanad Electoral (Panel Members) Acts, 1947 to 1972, as will enable voting and counting of votes at the relevant election or referendum under the said enactment or enactments to take place using equipment approved for use under this Part.

(2) Subject to subsection (3), the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands may be order make such adaptations of, or modifications to, the Údarás an Gaeltachta Acts, 1979 to 1999, and the regulations made under such Acts as will enable voting and counting of votes at Údarás elections to take place using equipment approved for use under this Part.

(3) Any adaptations or modifications provided for by an order under subsection (1) or (2) shall—

(a) in every case be such as will result in the enactment concerned having effect subject to the same principles as the provisions of this Part are subject to, and

(b) in so far as is practicable, having regard to the differences between the subject matter of the Electoral Acts, 1992 to 2001, and the enactment concerned, be such as will, in the opinion of the Minister of the Government referred to in subsection (1) or (2), result in that enactment containing provisions corresponding in their terms to those of this Part in so far as they relate to the matters referred to in subsection (1) or (2).

(4) Every order made under this section shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made and, if a resolution annulling the order is passed by either House within the next 21 days on which the House has sat after the order has been laid before it, the order shall be annulled accordingly but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.

(5) The Minister may by order amend or revoke an order made under this section (including an order under this subsection).

PART 4 Principal Amendments of Act of 1997 in relation to Political Donations

49 Amendment of Act of 1997.

49.—The Act of 1997 is amended—

(a) in section 3 by the substitution in subsection (1) for all the words from “section 21” down to and including “51 or 52” of “section 21, 22, 23, 23A, 23B, 24(1A), 24(4), 26(1), 30, 31, 32, 46, 47, 48(1), 48A, 48B, 51 or 52”,

(b) in section 22 by—

(i) the insertion of “or a third party” after “European Parliament” in each place where those words occur in paragraph (a) of subsection (2);

(ii) the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (a) of subsection (2)—

“(aa) ‘account’ means an account in an institution in the State for the purpose of crediting and debiting money received in respect of donations;

‘accounting unit’, in relation to a political party, means a branch, including the headquarters of a political party if it is a separate accounting unit or other subsidiary organisation of the party, which in any particular year, receives a donation the value of which exceeds £100;

‘candidate’ means a person who on or before the date of movement of a writ in relation to a Dáil general election or bye-election or the date of the making of the order appointing polling day in relation to a Seanad election or an election to the European Parliament is declared by himself or herself or by others to be a candidate at the election concerned;

‘institution’ means—

(a) the holder of a licence under section 9 of the Central Bank Act, 1971,

(b) a building society incorporated or deemed to be incorporated under the Building Societies Act, 1989, or a body incorporated in a corresponding manner under the law of any other Member State of the European Communities,

(d) ACC Bank plc,

(e) An Post, or

(f) a person authorised in accordance with the European Communities (Licensing and Supervision of Credit Institutions) Regulations, 1992 (S.I. No. 395 of 1992), to carry on business in the State;

‘political group’ means a group formed in accordance with the rules of procedure of the European Parliament;

‘political purposes’ means any of the following purposes, namely—

(i)(I)to promote or oppose directly or indirectly, the interests of a political party, a political group, a member of either House of the Oireachtas or a representative in the European Parliament, or

(II) to present, directly or indirectly, the policies or a particular policy of a political party, a political group, a member of either House of the Oireachtas, a representative in the European Parliament or a third party, or

(III) to present, directly or indirectly, the comments of a political party, a political group, a member of either House of the Oireachtas, a representative in the European Parliament or a third party with regard to the policy or policies of another political party, political group, a member of either House of the Oireachtas, representative in the European Parliament, third party or candidate at an election or referendum or otherwise, or

(IV) to promote or oppose, directly or indirectly, the interests of a third party in connection with the conduct or management of any campaign conducted with a view to promoting or procuring a particular outcome in relation to a policy or policies or functions of the Government or any public authority;

(ii) to promote or oppose, directly or indirectly, the election of a candidate at a Dáil, Seanad or European election or to solicit votes for or against a candidate or to present the policies or a particular policy of a candidate or the views of a candidate on any matter connected with the election or the comments of a candidate with regard to the policy or policies of a political party or a political group or of another candidate at the election or otherwise;

(iii) otherwise to influence the outcome of the election or a referendum or campaign referred to in paragraph (i)(IV) of this definition;

‘responsible person’, in relation to an accounting unit, means the treasurer or any other person responsible for dealing with donations to the unit, or, in relation to a third party, the person or persons responsible for the organisation, management or financial affairs of the third party;

‘third party’ means any person, other than a political party registered in the Register of Political Parties under Part III of the Electoral Act, 1992, or a candidate at an election, who accepts, in a particular year, a donation the value of which exceeds £100.”,

(i) in subsection (1), by the insertion of “or third party” after “European election” and the insertion of “third party” after “party, member, representative”, and

(ii) in subsection (2) by the insertion of “or third party” after “European election” and the insertion of “third party” after “party, member, representative”,

(d) the insertion of the following sections after section 23:

“Limits on donation amounts.	23A.—(1) Without prejudice to subsection (2), none of the following persons, namely— (a) a member of either House of the Oireachtas, (b) a representative in the European Parliament, (c) a candidate at a Dáil, Seanad or European Election, (d) a political party, (e) a third party, or (f) an accounting unit, shall, directly or through any intermediary, accept from a particular person in a particular year a donation the value of which exceeds— (i) in case the first-mentioned person falls within paragraph (a), (b), or (c), £2,000, and (ii) in case the first-mentioned person falls within paragraph (d), (e), or (f), £5,000. (2) None of the persons referred to in any of paragraphs (a) to (f) of subsection (1) shall, directly or through any intermediary, accept a donation of whatever value given by— (a) an individual (other than an Irish citizen) who resides outside the island of Ireland, or (b) a body corporate or unincorporated body of persons which does not keep an office in the island of Ireland, being an office from which the carrying on of one or more of its principal activities is directed. (3) Where a person makes more than one donation— (i) in the same year to the same member of either House of the Oireachtas, representative in the European Parliament, political party, third party or accounting unit, or (ii) in relation to the same Dáil, Seanad or European election to the same candidate, or in relation to the same referendum or campaign, all such donations shall, for the purposes of this section, be aggregated and treated as a single donation received by the person concerned and references in subsequent provisions of this section to a donation the acceptance of which is prohibited by subsection (1) shall be construed accordingly. (4) The limits referred to in subsection (1) shall not apply to the provision by any person of a constituency office to an individual, or if more than one such office is provided to the individual, whichever one of those offices is nominated in writing by the individual for the purposes of this subsection. (5) Where, notwithstanding subsection (1) or (2), a donation, the acceptance of which is prohibited by either subsection, is made to a person referred to therein, the donee shall, not later than 14 days after the receipt of the donation, either— (a) return the donation, or, in the case of a donation referred to in subsection (1) which is a monetary donation, the part of it exceeding the limit concerned to the donor and keep a written record of that return for the purposes of its being furnished to the Public Offices Commission, if required by it, or (b) notify the Public Offices Commission of such receipt and remit the donation, or, in the case of a donation referred to in subsection (1) which is a monetary donation, the part of it exceeding the limit concerned or the value thereof, to the Commission.
Political donations accounts.	23B.—(1) A member of either House of the Oireachtas, a representative in the European Parliament, a candidate at a Dáil, Seanad or European election, a political party, a third party or an accounting unit who or which receives, in any particular year, a monetary donation the value of which exceeds £100 shall open and maintain an account in an institution in the State and shall lodge that donation and any further monetary donations received by him or her or it to that account. (2) As soon as may be after the commencement of section 49 of the Electoral (Amendment) Act, 2001, and from time to time thereafter as circumstances require, the appropriate officer of a political party referred to in section 71 shall, if the party is one to which subsection (1) applies, notify the Public Offices Commission of the name and address of each accounting unit of the political party and the name of the responsible person or persons of the accounting unit. (3) A member of either House of the Oireachtas, a representative in the European Parliament or a political party shall ensure that a donation statement furnished by him or her or it under section 24 to the Public Offices Commission is accompanied by— (a) a statement provided by the institution referred to in subsection (1) with which he or she or it has opened the account referred to therein specifying the transactions that have taken place in relation to the account during the year preceding the year in which the said donation statement is furnished, and (b) a certificate in a form directed by the Public Offices Commission signed by the member, representative or an officer of the political party, as the case may be, stating that all monetary donations received by the member, representative or political party during the preceding year were lodged to the said account and all amounts debited from that account were used for political purposes. (4) An unsuccessful candidate at a Dáil, Seanad or European election shall ensure that a donation statement furnished by him or her under section 24 to the Public Offices Commission is accompanied by— (a) a statement provided by the institution referred to in subsection (1) with which he or she has opened the account referred to therein specifying the transactions that have taken place in relation to the account during the period beginning on the date of opening of the account and ending on polling day at the election, and (b) a certificate, in a form directed by the Public Offices Commission, signed by him or her stating that all monetary donations received by him or her during the said period were lodged to the said account and all amounts debited from that account were used for political purposes. (5) Not later than 31 March in every year, the responsible person of a third party or of an accounting unit shall furnish to the Public Offices Commission a statement provided by the institution referred to in subsection (1) with which the third party or accounting unit has opened the account referred to therein specifying the transactions that have taken place in relation to the account during the preceding year together with a certificate, in the form directed by the Commission, signed by him or her stating that all monetary donations received by the third party or accounting unit during the preceding year were lodged to the said account and all amounts debited from that account were used for political purposes. (6) The certificate furnished pursuant to subsection (3), (4) or (5) shall be accompanied by a statutory declaration made by the person by whom the certificate is furnished that, to the best of the person's knowledge and belief, the certificate is correct in every material respect and that the person has taken all reasonable action in order to be satisfied as to the accuracy of the certificate. (7) If a person to whom subsection (3) or (4), other than a political party, applies, dies before the expiration of the period for furnishing the donation statement referred to in those subsections to the Public Offices Commission the requirements of those subsections with respect to that statement being accompanied by the statement and certificate referred to therein shall not apply. (8) The Public Offices Commission shall retain the statements, certificates and statutory declarations furnished to it pursuant to subsections (3), (4) and (5) and shall not disclose the contents of those statements, certificates or declarations unless ordered by a Court to do so or save when such disclosure is required in connection with an investigation held by the Commission.
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Registration of third parties.	23C.—As soon as may be after the receipt by it of a donation the value of which exceeds £100 and before incurring any expenses for political purposes or, as the case may be, incurring, subsequent to that receipt, any further such expenses, a third party shall furnish to the Public Offices Commission in writing— (a) the name and address of the third party and the name and address of the responsible person or each responsible person in relation to the third party, (b) a statement of the nature, purpose and estimated amount of the donations to, and proposed expenses of, the third party in any year, and (c) an indication of the third party's connection, if any, with any political party or candidate at a Dáil, Seanad or European election or referendum or otherwise.”,
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(e) in section 25 by—

(i) the insertion in subsection (1) of “or the responsible person of a third party or of an accounting unit” after “at the election”;

(ii) the insertion in subsections (1)(a) and (1)(b) of “or 23A” after “section 23”;

(iii) the insertion in subsection (1)(b) after “thereof” of “or fails to return the donation or part of the donation exceeding the limit to the donor under section 23A”;

(iv) the insertion in subsection (1)(c) of “furnish the statement of an institution, certificate or statutory declaration required under section 23B or” after “fails to”;

(v) the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (d) of subsection (1):

“(d) knowingly—

(i) furnishes a donation statement under this Part or makes a statutory declaration referred to in section 24, or

(ii) furnishes a statement of an institution or a certificate or makes a statutory declaration referred to in section 23B,

which is false or misleading in any material respect, or”;

(vi) the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (d) of subsection (1)—

“(e) fails to comply with section 23C.”;

(vii) the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (c) of subsection (2)—

“(c) where the conviction relates to—

(i) a failure to furnish a statement of an institution or certificate or make a statutory declaration referred to in section 23B, or

(ii) a failure to furnish a donation statement under section 24,

the person shall be guilty of a further offence on every day on which the failure continues after such conviction and for each such offence the person shall be liable, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding £100.”,

(f) in section 46 by—

(i) the deletion in paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of all the words from “‘donation’” down to and including “namely—” and substituting “‘donation’ means any contribution given by any person to a candidate at a presidential election for the purpose of promoting the election of the candidate at that election or otherwise affecting the outcome of that election or to a third party for the purpose of promoting the election of a candidate at the presidential election or otherwise affecting the outcome of that election, and includes all or any of the following, namely—”;

(ii) the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (a) of subsection (2)—

“(aa) ‘account’ means an account in an institution in the State for the purpose of crediting and debiting money received in respect of donations;

‘candidate’ means a person who, on or before the date of the making of the order appointing polling day at a presidential election is declared by himself or herself or by others to be a candidate at that election;

‘institution’ means—

(a) the holder of a licence under section 9 of the Central Bank Act, 1971,

(d) ACC Bank plc,

(e) An Post, or

(f) a person authorised in accordance with the European Communities (Licensing and Supervision of Credit Institutions) Regulations, 1992 (S.I. No. 395 of 1992), to carry on business in the State;

references to promoting the election of a candidate at a presidential election or otherwise affecting the outcome of that election shall be construed as references to—

(i) promoting or opposing, directly or indirectly, the election of a candidate or soliciting votes for or against a candidate,

(ii) presenting the policies or a particular policy of a candidate or the views of a candidate on any matter connected with the election or the comments of a candidate with regard to the policy or policies of a candidate at the election or otherwise,

(iii) otherwise influencing the outcome of the election;

‘responsible person’, in relation to a third party, means the person or persons responsible for the organisation, management or financial affairs of the third party;

‘third party’, in relation to a presidential election, means any person, other than a political party registered in the Register of Political Parties under Part III of the Electoral Act, 1992, or a candidate at a presidential election, who, in any particular year, accepts a donation the value of which exceeds £100.”,

(g) in section 47 by—

(i) the insertion in subsection (1) of “or third party” after “presidential election”,

(ii) the insertion in subsection (2) of

(I) “or third party” after “presidential election” and after “candidate concerned”, and

(II) “or the certificate to be furnished under section 48B” after “section 48” where it first occurs,

(h) the insertion of the following sections after section 48:

“Limits on donation amounts.	48A.—(1) Without prejudice to subsection (2), none of the following persons, namely— (a) a candidate, (b) a presidential election agent, or (c) a third party at a presidential election, shall, directly or through any intermediary, accept from a particular person in a particular year a donation the value of which exceeds— (i) in case the first-mentioned person falls within paragraph (a) or (b), £2,000, or (ii) in case the first-mentioned person falls within paragraph (c), £5,000. (2) None of the persons referred to in paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of subsection (1) shall, directly or through any intermediary, accept a donation of whatever value given by— (a) an individual (other than an Irish citizen) who resides outside the island of Ireland, or (b) a body corporate or an unincorporated body of persons which does not keep an office in the island of Ireland, being an office from which the carrying on of one or more of its principal activities is directed. (3) Where a person makes more than one donation in relation to the same presidential election to the same candidate, presidential election agent or third party all such donations shall, for the purposes of this section, be aggregated and treated as a single donation received by the person concerned, and references in subsequent provisions of this section to a donation the acceptance of which is prohibited by subsection (1) shall be construed accordingly. (4) Where, notwithstanding subsection (1) or (2), a donation, the acceptance of which is prohibited by either subsection, is made to a person, agent or third party referred to therein, the person, agent or third party, as the case may be, or, in the case of a donation to the first-mentioned person which is made after the appointment by him or her of a presidential election agent, the presidential election agent, shall, not later than 14 days after the receipt of the donation, either— (a) return the donation, or, in the case of a donation, referred to in subsection (1) which is a monetary donation, the part of it exceeding the limit concerned, to the donor and keep a written record of that return for the purposes of its being furnished to the Public Offices Commission, if required by it, or (b) notify the Public Offices Commission of such receipt and remit the donation, or, in the case of a donation referred to in subsection (1) which is a monetary donation, the part of it exceeding the limit concerned or the value thereof, to the Commission. (5) If a donation is accepted by or on behalf of a candidate at a presidential election before the appointment by the candidate of a presidential election agent, the candidate shall furnish to the relevant agent details of such donations, together with the relevant documentation, and thereafter the presidential election agent shall be responsible for furnishing the relevant statement to the Public Offices Commission.
Political donations accounts.	48B.—(1) Where a candidate at a presidential election, a presidential election agent or a third party receives a monetary donation the value of which exceeds £100, there shall be opened and maintained— (a) in the case of such a receipt by the candidate before the appointment by him or her of a presidential election agent, by the candidate, (b) in the case of such a receipt by the candidate after such an appointment is made, by that agent, and (c) in any other case, by the presidential election agent or third party, as the case may be, an account at an institution in the State and there shall be lodged to that account by the person who has opened it that donation and any further monetary donations received by him or her or it. (2) A presidential election agent shall ensure that a donation statement furnished by him or her under section 48 to the Public Offices Commission is accompanied by— (a) a statement provided by the institution referred to in subsection (1) with which he or she or the candidate for whom he or she is a presidential election agent has opened the account referred to therein specifying the transactions that have taken place in relation to the account during the period beginning on the date of opening of the account and ending on polling day at the presidential election, and (b) a certificate, in a form directed by the Public Offices Commission, signed by the presidential election agent, stating that all monetary donations received during the said period by him or her or the candidate for whom he or she is such an agent were lodged to the said account and all amounts debited from that account were used for promoting the election of the said candidate or otherwise affecting the outcome of the said election. (3) A third party shall, not later than 56 days after polling day at a presidential election, furnish to the Public Offices Commission a statement provided by the institution referred to in subsection (1) with which the third party has opened the account referred to therein specifying the transactions that have taken place in relation to the account during the period beginning on the date of opening of the account and ending on polling day at the presidential election, together with a certificate, in a form directed by the Commission, signed by the third party, stating that all monetary donations received during the said period by the third party were lodged to the said account and all amounts debited from that account were used for promoting the election of a candidate at the said election or otherwise affecting the outcome of the said election. (4) The certificate furnished pursuant to subsection (2) or (3) shall be accompanied by a statutory declaration made by the person by whom the certificate is furnished that, to the best of the person's knowledge and belief, the certificate is correct in every material respect and that the person has taken all reasonable action in order to be satisfied as to the accuracy of the certificate. (5) The Public Offices Commission shall retain the statements, certificates and statutory declarations furnished to it pursuant to subsections (2), (3) and (4) and shall not disclose the contents of those statements, certificates or declarations unless ordered by a Court to do so or save when such disclosure is required in connection with an investigation held by the Commission.
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Registration of third parties.	48C.—As soon as may be after the receipt by it of a donation the value of which exceeds £100 and before incurring any expenses for the purposes of promoting the election of a candidate at a presidential election or otherwise affecting the outcome of such an election or, as the case may be, incurring, subsequent to that receipt, any further such expenses a third party shall furnish to the Public Offices Commission in writing— (a) the name and address of the third party and the name and address of the responsible person or each responsible person in relation to the third party, (b) a statement of the nature, purpose and estimated amount of the donations to, and proposed expenses of, the third party in any year, and (c) an indication of the third party's connection, if any, with any political party or candidate at the election.”,
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(i) in section 61(2) by—

(i) the insertion of “or a candidate or a third party” after “candidate” and after “said agent”;

(ii) the insertion of “or the statement of an institution, certificate or statutory declaration required by section 48B” after “section 48” in paragraph (f) and (g);

(iii) the substitution of “respect, or” for “respect.” in paragraph (g);

(iv) the insertion of the following paragraphs after paragraph (g)—

“(h) fails to notify the Public Offices Commission in accordance with section 47 or 48A of the receipt of a donation acceptance of which is prohibited by that section, or

(i) fails to remit to the Public Offices Commission in accordance with section 47 or 48A such a donation or the value thereof, or fails to return the donation or part of it exceeding the limit to the donor under section 48A, or

(j) fails to comply with section 48C.”;

(j) in section 61(5) by the insertion of “or a statement of an institution, certificate or statutory declaration under section 48B” after “section 48” in paragraph (c).

PART 5 Miscellaneous

50 Amendment of Act of 1997.

50.—The Act of 1997 is amended—

(a) in section 4 by—

(i) the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (2):

“(2) Where the Public Offices Commission, following consideration by it of a statement furnished to it pursuant to section 20, 24, 36, 48 or 56, finds a minor error or omission in the statement, the Commission shall furnish to the agent or person by whom the statement was furnished details of the error or omission, as the case may be, and the Commission shall inform the agent or the person, as the case may be, that he or she may correct the error or make good the omission within the period of 14 days from the date on which the notification issued to the agent or person as the case may be.”,

(ii) the insertion of the following subsections after subsection (9):

“(10) Such functions of the Public Offices Commission under this Act, as may be specified by it, may be performed under the supervision and subject to the general direction of the Commission, by members of the staff of the Commission duly authorised in that behalf by the Commission.

(11) A person shall act in accordance with guidelines or advice published or given to the person under this section unless, by so doing, the act concerned would constitute a contravention of another provision of this Act.”,

(b) by the insertion of the following section after section 4:

“Limitation of time for prosecution of offence.

4A.—Notwithstanding the provisions of section 10(4) of the Petty Sessions (Ireland) Act, 1851, summary proceedings in relation to an offence under this Act may be commenced— (a) at any time within 12 months from the date on which the offence was committed, or (b) at any time within 6 months from the date on which evidence that, in the opinion of the Commission, is sufficient to justify the bringing of the proceedings, comes to the Commission's knowledge, whichever is the later, but no such proceedings shall be commenced later than 5 years from the date on which the offence concerned was committed.”,

(i) the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (1):

“(1) Subject to the provisions of this Part, the following payments shall be made out of the Central Fund or the growing produce thereof in each period of 12 months to each qualified party which applies therefor, namely—

(a) an amount of £100,000, and

(b) an amount which bears the same proportion to the amount referred to in paragraph (a) of subsection (2) or, as appropriate, paragraph (b)(i) of that subsection, as the proportion which the total number of first preference votes obtained by every candidate of the political party concerned at the preceding general election bears to the total number of first preference votes obtained by candidates of all qualified parties at that election.”,

(ii) in subsection (2)—

(I) the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (a):

“(a) The aggregate of the payments which may be made to qualified parties under subsection (1)(b) shall not, subject to paragraph (b), exceed three million pounds.”,

and

(II) the substitution in paragraph (b)(i) of “which may be made under subsection (1)(b)” for “which may be made under this section”,

(iii) the deletion of subsection (3), and

(iv) the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (4):

“(4A) Where, before the date for the making of a payment under this Part—

(a) one or more political parties (which or each of which is referred to in this subsection as a ‘former party’) is or are amalgamated with another political party (in this subsection referred to as the ‘enlarged party’), or

(b) two or more political parties (each of which is also referred to in this subsection as a ‘former party’) are merged into a political party established for the purpose of the merger (in this subsection referred to as the ‘new party’),

then, if the enlarged party or new party falls within paragraph (a) of the definition of ‘qualified party’ in section 16, the total number of first preference votes obtained by every candidate of each former party shall, for the purposes of paragraph (b) of that definition and subsection (1)(b) of section 17, be attributed to the enlarged party or the new party, as the case may be.”,

(d) in section 18 by the insertion in subsection (1)(a) after “such payments to” of “the general conduct and management of the party's affairs and the lawful pursuit by it of any of its objectives and, without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing,”,

(e) in section 21 by—

(i) the substitution of the following subparagraph for subparagraph (ii) of subsection (1)(a) (inserted by section 4 of the Electoral (Amendment) Act, 1998):

“(ii) is not so elected but the greatest number of votes credited to him or her at any stage of the counting of votes at the election exceeds, in the case of a general election, one quarter of the quota, or, in the case of a bye-election, one quarter of what would have been the quota in that constituency were the full number of members of the Dáil for the existing constituency to be elected.”,

(ii) the insertion in subsection (1)(c) of “in a form directed by the Commission” after “Commission”;

(iii) in subsection (1)(d)—

(I) the substitution for “Part V, and” of “Part V,” in subparagraph (ii),

(II) the substitution for “the candidate.” of “the candidate, and” in subparagraph (iii), and

(III) the insertion of the following subparagraph after subparagraph (iii):

“(iv) certified to the said Minister that a donation statement required to be submitted under section 24(2)(a) has been furnished to the Commission and such statement was completed in accordance with guidelines issued by the Commission under section 4.”,

(f) in section 22(2)(b) by—

(i) the insertion of “(including recoupment of expenses)” after “normal remuneration” in clause (II) of subparagraph (iii) (inserted by the Electoral (Amendment) Act, 1998);

(ii) the substitution for “donation of money;” of “donation of money,” in subparagraph (vi) (inserted by the Electoral (Amendment) Act, 1998); and

(iii) the insertion of the following subparagraph after subparagraph (vi):

“(vii) election expenses incurred by a political party on behalf of a candidate of the political party at a Seanad election, other than a donation of money;”,

(g) in section 24 by—

(i) in subsection (1A)(b) (inserted by the Electoral (Amendment) Act, 1998)—

(I) the deletion of “and” in subparagraph (i),

(II) the substitution for “section 26.” of “section 26, and” in subparagraph (ii), and

(III) the insertion of the following subparagraph after subparagraph (ii):

“(iii) to donations (other than money) made by a political party to its members whether to individuals or any part of the party.”;

(ii) the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (6):

“(6A) Where the Public Offices Commission requests additional or supplemental information in relation to a donation statement, such information shall be provided by the person who furnished the statement under subsection (1) or (2) and shall be in a form, directed by the Commission, accompanied, if the Commission so requests, by a statutory declaration made by the person that, to the best of the person's knowledge and belief, the information is correct in every material respect and that the person has taken all reasonable action in order to be satisfied as to the accuracy of the information.”;

and

(iii) the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (7)—

“(8) If a person to whom subsection (1)(a) or (2) applies dies before the expiration of the period for furnishing a statement under subsection (1)(a) or (2), a donation statement in respect of that person shall not be required to be made to the Public Offices Commission.”,

(h) in section 25 by—

(i) the insertion of “or section 26” after “section” where it first occurs in subsection (2), and

(ii) the insertion of “or (1A)(b)” after “subsection (1)(d)” in subsection (2)(b),

(i) in section 26 by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (2):

“(3) A company, trade union, society or building society which fails to comply with the provisions of this section shall be guilty of an offence and section 74 shall apply to such an offence.”,

(j) in section 28(2)(a) by the insertion after “Part” of “and to assist the candidate generally in relation to the election.”,

(k) in section 31 by:

(i) in subsection (1)(a)—

(I) The deletion of all the words from “In this Part” down to and including “in order—” and the substitution of the following—

“In this Part ‘election expenses’ means all expenses falling within paragraph (b) incurred in the provision of property, goods or services for use at an election during the period referred to in subsection (3) in order—”,

and

(II) in subparagraph (iii)—

(A) the substitution of “the outcome of the election.” for “the outcome of the election;”,

and

(B) the deletion of all the words from “and shall” down to and including “at the election.”,

(ii) the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (b) of subsection (1):

“(b) The expenses mentioned in the foregoing definition of ‘election expenses’ shall be those, and only those, set out, in the Schedule to this Act.”,

(iii) in subsection (3)(b) the substitution of “paragraph 2(b), of the Schedule to this Act” for “subsection (1)(b)(vi)”,

and

(iv) the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (8):

“(8A) It shall be the duty of the political party or candidate concerned to furnish the relevant material referred to in subsection (8) to the relevant national agent or election agent in sufficient time to enable the agent to carry out his or her duties under section 36. A political party or a candidate which or who fails to comply with this section shall be guilty of an offence.”;

(l) in section 32 by the substitution of “£20,000” for the sum mentioned in subparagraph (i), “£25,000” for the sum mentioned in subparagraph (ii) and “£30,000” for the sum mentioned in subparagraph (iii) of subsection (1)(a),

(m) in section 36 by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (2):

“(2A) Where the Public Offices Commission requests additional or supplemental information in relation to a statement of election expenses under this section, such information shall be provided by the agent or person who furnished the statement and shall be in a form, directed by the Commission, accompanied, if the Commission so requests, by a statutory declaration made by the agent or person that, to the best of the knowledge and belief of the agent or person, the information is correct in every material respect and that the agent or person has taken all reasonable action in order to be satisfied as to the accuracy of the information.”,

(n) in section 43 by the insertion of “and, for the purposes of proceedings for an offence under this paragraph, the excess of such expenditure shall be deemed to have occurred on polling day” after “appropriate,” in paragraph (a) of subsection (2),

(o) in section 46(2)(b) by the insertion of “(including recoupment of expenses)” after “normal remuneration” in clause (II) of subparagraph (iii) (inserted by the Electoral (Amendment) Act, 1998),

(p) in section 48 by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (2):

“(2A) Where the Public Offices Commission requests additional or supplemental information in relation to a presidential election donation statement, such information shall be provided by the presidential election agent concerned and shall be in a form, directed by the Commission, accompanied, if the Commission so requests, by a statutory declaration made by the agent that, to the best of the agent's knowledge and belief, the information is correct in every material respect and that the agent has taken all reasonable action in order to be satisfied as to the accuracy of the information.”,

(q) in section 50(1)(a) by the insertion of “and to assist the candidate generally in relation to the election” after “of this Part”,

(r) in section 52 by—

“(i) in subsection (1)(a)—

(I) The deletion of all the words from “In this Part” down to and including “in order—” and the substitution of the following—

“In this Part ‘election expenses’ means all expenses falling within paragraph (b) incurred in the provision of property, goods or services for use at a presidential election during the period commencing on the date of the order appointing polling day at that election and ending on polling day at that election in order—”,

and

(II) in subparagraph (iii)—

(A) the substitution of “the outcome of the election.” for “the outcome of the election,”, and

(B) the deletion of all the words from “and shall” down to and including “at the election.”,

(ii) the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (b) of subsection (1):

“(b) The expenses mentioned in the foregoing definition of ‘election expenses’ shall be those, and only those, set out, in the Schedule to this Act.”,

and

(iii) the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (7):

“(7A) It shall be the duty of the candidate concerned to furnish the relevant material referred to in subsection (7) to the relevant presidential election agent in sufficient time to enable the agent to carry out his or her duties under section 56. A candidate who fails to comply with this subsection shall be guilty of an offence.”,

(s) in section 56 by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (2):

“(2A) Where the Public Offices Commission requests additional or supplemental information in relation to a statement of election expenses under this section, such information shall be provided by the presidential election agent or person who furnished the statement in a form, directed by the Commission, accompanied, if the Commission so requests by a statutory declaration made by the agent or person that, to the best of the knowledge and belief of the agent or person, the information is correct in every material respect and that the agent or person has taken all reasonable action in order to be satisfied as to the accuracy of the information.”,

(t) in section 61 by the insertion of “and, for the purposes of proceedings for an offence under this paragraph, the excess of such expenditure shall be deemed to have occurred on polling day,” after “section 53” in paragraph (a) of subsection (2),

(u) in section 63 by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (2):

“(3) Rules 16 and 17 of Part II of the Second Schedule to the Electoral Act, 1992, shall apply to an appeal against a ruling of a registration authority to an application under this section as if the reference in the said Rule 16 to an application for entry in the supplement to the register were a reference to an application for entry in the postal voters list under this section.”; and

(v) by the insertion after section 82 of the following Schedule:

“SCHEDULE

The following are the expenses referred to in section 31(1)(b) and 52(1)(b):

(a) Advertising (whatever the medium used).

Expenses in respect of such advertising include agency fees, design costs and other costs incurred in connection with preparing, producing, distributing or otherwise disseminating such advertising.

(b) Publicity.

Expenses in respect of that matter include expenses incurred in respect of party political broadcasts, the provision of any services or facilities in connection with press conferences or other dealings with the media, media advice and training and photography.

Expenses in respect of such material include the costs of the design, production, printing, erection and removal of election posters.

(d) Other election material.

Expenses in respect of such material include the design, production, printing and disseminating of such material (other than posters) including canvass cards, election leaflets, election manifestos, newsletters and any other promotional election material.

(e) Office and stationery.

Expenses in respect of those matters include costs incurred in the rental or use of an office premises or meeting rooms for election purposes (other than for the purposes of annual or other party conferences) and the costs of heating, electricity, insurance, purchase or rental of office equipment, telephones, stationery and postage.

(f) Transport and travel.

Expenses in respect of those matters include expenses incurred on transport and travel (by any means), petrol and diesel, rental or use of campaign vehicles, rental or use of vehicles for transport of voters on polling day, accommodation costs, taxi and hackney services and courier services.

(g) Market Research.

Expenses in respect of that matter include expenses incurred in the taking of an opinion poll or other similar survey relating to an election within the period of 60 days before polling day at the election by or on behalf of a political party, a political group or a candidate at the election.

(h) Campaign workers.

Expenses in respect of that matter include payments to campaign workers, insurance and other costs.

For the avoidance of doubt, nothing in paragraph 1 of this Schedule extends to—

(a) any of the matters referred to in subparagraphs (i) to (v) of section 22(2)(b) or, in the case of a presidential election, subparagraphs (i) to (v) of section 46(2)(b),

(b) expenses incurred in the provision of property, goods or services used at an election where such property, goods or services was or were provided in respect of a previous Presidential, Dáil, European or local election and the cost of providing such property, goods or services was included in the statement of election expenses furnished to the Public Offices Commission or to a local authority in relation to the said previous election by the national agent of the party or designated person of the party or election agent of the candidate, or candidate as the case may be,

(c) any expenses in respect of any property, services or facilities so far as those expenses fall to be met out of public funds,

(d) the payment by or on behalf of a candidate of the deposit under section 13 of the Act of 1997 or section 47 of the Act of 1992, as may be appropriate,

(e) expenditure on the purchase of copies of the register of electors or parts thereof,

(f) the reasonable living expenses (including accommodation) of a candidate or any person or persons working on behalf of the candidate on a voluntary basis, or

(g) any sum disbursed by any individual out of the individual's own resources for any minor expenses (not exceeding £100 in any one payment) lawfully incurred in relation to the election if the said sum is not repaid to the person.”.

51 Amendment of European Parliament Elections Act, 1997.

51.—The European Parliament Elections Act, 1997, is amended—

(a) in section 2(1) by the insertion after the definition of “the Act of 1992” of the following definition:

“‘chief returning officer’ has the meaning assigned to it by section 15A;”;

(b) by the substitution in paragraph (b) of section 10 of “7 a.m.” for “8 a.m.”;

(c) in section 11 by the insertion of “on polling day or, if there is no polling day in relation to the constituency concerned by reason of the operation of Rule 23(1)(b), the day which is polling day generally throughout the State in relation to the election concerned” after “21 years”;

(d) by the insertion of the following section after section 15:

“Chief returning officer.

15A.—(1) Not later than the day on which an order appointing the polling day at a European election is made, the Minister shall appoint a person to be the chief returning officer for the purposes of this Act. (2) It shall be the duty of the chief returning officer to receive the returns furnished to him or her in pursuance of this Act by the returning officer for each constituency, to make in the prescribed form to the Parliament a return of the persons elected pursuant to this Act and to do such other things in respect of a European election as he or she is required by law to do. (3) There shall be charged on and paid out of the Central Fund or the growing produce thereof to the chief returning officer such sums as the Minister for Finance shall sanction for that officer's services and expenses in respect of a European election.”;

(e) by the substitution of “chief returning officer” for “Clerk of the Dáil” or “Clerk” where those words or that word occur in the following sections and Second Schedule, namely—

(i) section 16(2),

(ii) subsections (5) and (7) of section 20,

(iii) section 21(6)(c),

(iv) in the said Schedule—

(I) Rule 23(1)(b),

(II) Rule 27(2)(a),

(III) paragraphs (5) and (6) of Rule 39,

(IV) Rule 70(b),

(V) Rule 92(1),

(VI) paragraphs (1), (2), (3) and (4) of Rule 93,

(VII) Rule 94,

(VIII) Rule 121,

(IX) Rule 139(2);

(f) in section 18 by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (6)—

“(6) On the request of a returning officer or local returning officer for an advance on account of the officer's charges, the Minister for Finance may, after consultation with the Minister, (irrespective of whether the scale of charges referred to in subsection (1) has been prepared or not), if the Minister for Finance thinks fit, and on such terms as the said Minister of the Government thinks fit, make such an advance.”;

(g) in Rule 5(3) of the Second Schedule by—

(i) the substitution of “section 25(7)(d)” for “section 25(4)(c)”;

(ii) the insertion of “and a copy of the political party's emblem as registered in the Register of Political Parties under Part III of the Electoral Act, 1992,” after “relevant political party”;

(iii) the insertion of “the name of the political party” after “ballot papers and” where those words first occur;

(h) in Rule 13 of the Second Schedule by the substitution of “paragraphs (3) to (5) of Rule 5” for “paragraph (3) or (4) of Rule 5” in paragraph (4);

(i) in Rule 18(3)(a) of the Second Schedule by the substitution of “section 25(7)(d)” for “section 25(4)(c)”;

(j) in Rule 50 of the Second Schedule by—

(i) the insertion of “subject to any modifications which may be provided for in regulations under paragraph 2(b)” after “Fourth Schedule” in paragraph (1);

(ii) the substitution of the following subparagraph for subparagraph (b) of paragraph (2):

“(b) a ballot paper may include a photograph of each candidate and the emblem registered in the Register of Political Parties under Part III of the Electoral Act, 1992, of the candidate's political party in accordance with the requirements prescribed in regulations which may be made by the Minister (and such regulations may provide for the modification of the form of the ballot paper for that purpose),”;

(iii) the insertion of “and the modifications which may be provided for in regulations under paragraph (b)” after “Fourth Schedule” in subparagraph (i) of paragraph (2);

(iv) the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (2):

“(2A) A notice containing a copy of the ballot paper in large print shall be displayed by the presiding officer in the polling station.”;

(k) in Rule 54 of the Second Schedule by the insertion of “and where appropriate, other information concerning the poll” after “Rule 72” in paragraph (1);

(l) in Rule 59 of the Second Schedule by the insertion of “or who are unable to read or write to such an extent” after “physically incapacitated” in paragraph (f);

(m) in Rule 60 of the Second Schedule by—

(a) the insertion of “(1)” before “Where”, and

(b) the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (1):

“(2) (a) Where a European elector is employed by a returning officer or a local returning officer for any purpose in connection with a European election and is registered to vote in a constituency, other than one in which the employment occurs, the elector shall, on application being made by him or her in that behalf, be entitled to have his or her name entered in a supplement to the postal voters list which the registration authority is empowered to prepare and publish in accordance with section 15A of the Electoral Act, 1992. An application under this paragraph shall be made on a form directed by the Minister, and the local returning officer who is employing the person shall certify on the form that the person will be employed by him or her on polling day in connection with the election and will be unable to vote in person in the constituency at the polling station at which the European elector would otherwise be entitled to vote.

(b) Section 15A(2)(d) of the Electoral Act, 1992, shall apply to an application for entry in a supplement to the postal voters list under paragraph (a) as if references in that provision to paragraph (a) or (b) of section 14 were references to this paragraph.

(n) in Rule 64 of the Second Schedule by the insertion in paragraph (3) of “or he or she is unable to read or write to such an extent” after “physically incapacitated.”;

(o) in Rule 72 of the Second Schedule—

(a) by the substitution of the following subparagraph for subparagraph (iii) (including the text in brackets) of paragraph (1)(c):

“(iii) Have you reached the age of eighteen years?”;

and

(b) by the substitution of “have attained the age of eighteen years” for “had attained the age of eighteen years on ...... (date of coming into force of the register)” in paragraph (1)(d);

(p) in Rule 75 of the Second Schedule by the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (1)—

“(1A) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(a), the manner in which a ballot box, being a ballot box containing not more than 50 ballot papers, shall be opened shall be such that, although the box is opened, in the presence of the agents of the candidates, the preferences on the individual ballot papers cannot be read by those agents or other persons present at the count.”;

(q) in Rule 85 of the Second Schedule by—

(i) the substitution of “shall not” for “need not necessarily” in paragraph (8); and

(ii) the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (11):

“(11) Subject to paragraphs (8) and (9), where two or more candidates have each an equal surplus arising from different counts, a surplus which arises at the end of any count shall be transferred before a surplus which arises at a subsequent count.”;

(r) in Rule 88 of the Second Schedule by the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (1)—

“(1A) When the number of continuing candidates exceeds by one the number of vacancies remaining unfilled and the total of the votes credited to the lowest continuing candidate together with the surplus or surpluses not transferred is less than the number of votes credited to the next highest continuing candidate, the continuing candidates, with the exception of the lowest such candidate, shall thereupon be deemed to be elected.”;

(s) in Rule 92(3) of the Second Schedule by the insertion of “the chief returning officer,” after “Minister,” where that word first occurs;

(t) by the deletion of Rule 95 of the Second Schedule;

(u) in Rule 118 of the Second Schedule by the substitution of “50 metres” for “100 metres” in paragraph (2);

and

(v) in Rule 139(1) of the Second Schedule by the insertion of “the chief returning officer,” after “concerned”.

52 Amendment of Presidential Elections Act, 1993.

52.—The Presidential Elections Act, 1993, is amended—

(a) in paragraph (b) of section 7 by the substitution of “7 a.m.” for “8 a.m.”;

(b) in section 9 by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (6)—

“(6) On the request of the presidential returning officer for an advance on account of his services and expenses, the Minister for Finance may, (irrespective of whether an order has been made under section 7 or not) if he thinks fit, and on such terms as he thinks fit, make such an advance.”;

“(3) On the request of a local returning officer for an advance on account of the officer's charges, the Minister for Finance may, after consultation with the Minister, (irrespective of whether the scale of charges referred to in subsection (1) has been prepared or not), if he thinks fit and on such terms as he thinks fit, make such an advance.”;

(d) in section 37 by—

(i) the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (a) of subsection (2):

“(aa) a ballot paper may include a photograph of each candidate in accordance with the requirements prescribed in regulations which may be made by the Minister (and such regulations may provide for the modification of the form of the ballot paper for that purpose);”;

and

(ii) in subsection (2) the insertion of “and the modifications which may be provided for in regulations under paragraph (aa)” after “directions” in paragraph (f);

and

(iii) the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (2):

“(2A) A notice containing a copy of the ballot paper in large print shall be displayed by the presiding officer in the polling station.”;

and

(e) in section 43 by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (1)—

“(1A) (a) Where a presidential elector is employed by a local returning officer for any purpose in connection with a presidential election and is registered to vote in a constituency, other than one in which the employment occurs, the elector shall, on application being made by him in that behalf, be entitled to have his name entered in a supplement to the postal voters list which the registration authority is empowered to prepare and publish in accordance with section 15A of the Electoral Act, 1992. An application under this section shall be made on a form directed by the Minister, and the local returning officer who is employing the person shall certify on the form that the person will be employed by him on polling day in connection with the election and will be unable to vote in person in the constituency at the polling station at which the presidential elector would otherwise be entitled to vote.

(b) Where an application under paragraph (a) is granted, the registration authority shall note the register of electors by placing a mark on the register against the number and name of the elector to denote that the elector's name is on the postal voters list.

(c) Section 15A(2)(d) of the Electoral Act, 1992, shall apply to an application for entry in a supplement to the postal voters list under paragraph (a) as if references in that provision to paragraph (a) or (b) of section 14 were a reference to this subsection.

(d) Subsection (4) of section 15A of the Electoral Act, 1992, shall not apply to an application under this subsection.”.

53 Amendment of Local Government Act, 1994.

53.—The Local Government Act, 1994, is amended—

(a) by the insertion in section 5 of “on or before polling day at the relevant local election (within the meaning of Part III) or if there is no poll in the local electoral area on or before the day which is polling day generally throughout the State in relation to the election concerned, or, as the case may be, on or before the day of co-option to a local authority” after “18 years”;

(b) by the substitution in subsection (1) of section 21 of “7 a.m.” for “8 a.m.”.

54 Amendment of Local Elections Regulations, 1995.

54.—The Local Elections Regulations, 1995 (S.I. No. 297 of 1995), are amended—

(a) in Article 14(5) by—

(i) the substitution of “section 25(7)(d)” for “section 25(4)(c)”,

(ii) the insertion of “and a copy of the political party's emblem as registered in the Register of Political Parties” after “relevant political party”,

(iii) the insertion of “the name of the political party only” after “ballot papers and”;

(b) in Article 51 by—

(i) the insertion of “subject to any modifications thereof provided under paragraph (aa) of sub-article (2)” after “Schedule” in sub-article (1);

(ii) the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (a) of sub-article (2):

“(aa) a ballot paper may include a photograph of each candidate and the registered emblem of the candidate's political party and the form of the ballot paper as specified in the Fourth Schedule may be adjusted accordingly in accordance with directions by the Minister,”;

(iii) the insertion of “and the modifications thereof which may be provided for under paragraph (aa)” after “Schedule” in paragraph (e) of sub-article (2); and

(iv) the insertion of the following sub-article after sub-article (2):

“(3) A notice containing a copy of the ballot paper in large print shall be displayed by the presiding officer in the polling station.”;

(c) in Article 55 by the insertion of “and, where appropriate, other information concerning the poll” after “article 73” in sub-article (1);

(d) in Article 60 by the insertion of “or who are unable to read or write to such an extent” after “physically incapacitated” in paragraph (f);

(e) in Article 61 by—

(i) the insertion of “(1)” before “Where, an elector”,

and

(ii) the insertion of the following sub-article after sub-article (1):

“(2) (a) Where a local government elector is employed by a returning officer for any purpose in connection with a local election and is registered to vote in a local electoral area, other than one in which the employment occurs, the elector shall, on application being made by him or her in that behalf, be entitled to have his or her name entered in a supplement to the postal voters list which the registration authority is empowered to prepare and publish in accordance with section 15A of the Electoral Act, 1992. An application under this sub-article shall be made on a form directed by the Minister, and the returning officer who is employing the person shall certify on the form that the person will be employed by him or her on polling day in connection with the election and will be unable to vote in person in the local electoral area at the polling station at which the local government elector would otherwise be entitled to vote.

(c) Subsection (4) of section 15A of the Electoral Act, 1992, shall not apply to an application under this sub-article.”;

(f) in Article 65 by the insertion of “or he or she is unable to read or write to such an extent” after “physically incapacitated” in sub-article (3);

(g) in Article 73 by—

(i) the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (c) (including the words in brackets) of sub-article (2):

“(c) Have you reached the age of eighteen years?”;

and

(ii) the substitution of “have attained the age of eighteen years” for “had attained the age of eighteen years on or before ...... (date of coming into force of the register)” in sub-article (3);

(h) in Article 76 by the insertion of the following sub-article after sub-article (1):

“(1A) For the purposes of sub-article (1), the manner in which a ballot box, being a box containing not more than 50 ballot papers, shall be opened shall be such that, although the box is opened in the presence of the agents of the candidates, the preferences on the individual ballot papers cannot be read by those agents or other persons present at the count.”;

(i) in Article 83 by—

(i) the substitution of “shall not” for “need not necessarily” in sub-article (8); and

(ii) the substitution of the following sub-article for sub-article (11)—

“(11) Subject to sub-articles (8) and (9), where two or more candidates have each an equal surplus arising from different counts, a surplus which arises at the end of any count shall be transferred before a surplus which arises at a subsequent count.”;

(j) in Article 86 by the insertion of the following sub-article after sub-article (1)—

(k) by the substitution of the following Article for Article 88—

“88 (1) The order in which candidates credited with a number of votes equal to or greater than the quota shall be deemed to be elected shall be the order of the count at which they were deemed to be elected.

(2) Where more than one candidate is deemed to be elected at the same count, such candidates shall be deemed to be elected in the order of magnitude of their surpluses. Where such a candidate is credited with a number of votes equal to the quota he shall, for the purposes of this article, be regarded as having had the smallest surplus at that count.

(3) Where two or more candidates are deemed to be elected at the same count with either equal surpluses or with no surpluses, the candidates shall be deemed to be elected in the order of magnitude of their original votes, beginning with the largest. Where the numbers of such original votes are equal, regard shall be had to the total number of votes credited to such candidates at the first count at which they had an unequal number of votes and the surplus of the candidate credited with the greatest number of votes at that count shall be deemed to be the largest. Where the numbers of votes credited to such candidates were equal at all counts, the candidates shall, in cases where lots were drawn to determine the order in which equal surpluses were to be dealt with, be deemed to have been elected in the order so determined. In all other cases the returning officer shall determine by lot the order in which such candidates shall be deemed to have been elected.

(4) Where a single candidate is deemed to be elected under article 86 such candidate shall be deemed to have been elected last of all the candidates deemed to have been elected at that counting of votes.

(5) Where more than one candidate is deemed to be elected under article 86 they shall be deemed to be elected in the order of magnitude of the numbers of votes credited to them, beginning with the largest, and where any such numbers are equal, the question shall be determined as between such candidates as if those numbers were surpluses.”;

and

(l) in article 108 by the substitution of “50 metres” for “100 metres” in sub-article (2).

55 Amendment of Referendum Act, 1994.

55.—The Referendum Act, 1994, is amended—

(a) in paragraph (b) of section 13 by the substitution of “7 a.m.” for “8 a.m.”;

(b) in section 14 by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (6)—

“(6) The Minister for Finance (irrespective of whether an order has been made under section 13 or not) may make an advance to the referendum returning officer for the officer's services and expenses on such terms as that Minister thinks fit.”;

“(3) On the request of a local returning officer for an advance on account of the officer's charges the Minister for Finance may, after consultation with the Minister, (irrespective of whether the scale of charges referred to in subsection (1) has been prepared or not), on such terms as the Minister for Finance thinks fit, make such an advance.”;

(d) in section 23 by the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (d):

“(e) a statement for the information of voters prescribed at a referendum may issue to electors on a document other than a polling information card if the statement cannot be accommodated on the polling card because of its length.”;

(e) in section 31 by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (1):

“(1A) (a) Where a presidential elector is employed by a local returning officer for any purpose in connection with a referendum and is registered to vote in a constituency, other than one in which the employment occurs, the elector shall, on application being made by him in that behalf, be entitled to have his name entered in a supplement to the postal voters list which the registration authority is empowered to prepare and publish in accordance with section 15A of the Electoral Act, 1992. An application under this section shall be made on a form directed by the Minister, and the local returning officer who is employing the person shall certify on the form that the person will be employed by him on polling day in connection with the referendum and will be unable to vote in person in the constituency at the polling station at which the presidential elector would otherwise be entitled to vote.

(d) Subsection (4) of section 15A of the Electoral Act, 1992, shall not apply to an application under this subsection.”.

56 Amendment of Seanad Electoral (University Members) Act 1937.

56.—The Seanad Electoral (University Members) Act, 1937, is amended—

(a) in section 7(2) by the deletion of “, if a woman”;

(b) in section 8 by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (1):

“(1A) (a) Notwithstanding the provisions of this section and the First Schedule to this Act, the governing body of every university which is a university constituency shall cause to be prepared and published a version of the register of electors which shall be known and is in this Act referred to as the ‘edited register’ in accordance with Rule 15A of the said Schedule.

(b) A person who uses information in the register prepared under subsection (1) of this section, being information which is excluded from the edited register, for a purpose, other than an electoral or other statutory purpose, shall be guilty of an offence.

(c) A governing body shall not be obliged to comply with paragraph (a) of this subsection until the day which is 3 years after the commencement of section 56 of the Electoral (Amendment) Act, 2001, but if it complies with that paragraph before that day, paragraph (b) of this subsection and section 25 (inserted by section 166 of the Principal Act) of this Act shall apply accordingly.”;

“(3) On the request of a returning officer for an advance on account of his charges the Minister for Finance may, after consultation with the Minister, (irrespective of whether the scale of charges referred to in subsection (2) of this section has been prepared or not), if he thinks fit and on such terms as he thinks fit, make such an advance.”;

(d) in section 20(2) by the insertion of “and may include a photograph of each candidate in accordance with such requirements as may be prescribed in that behalf” after “perforated”;

(e) in section 25 (inserted by section 166 of the Principal Act) by the insertion of “133,” after “57,” in subsection (1);

(f) in the First Schedule—

(i) in Rule 4—

(I) by the substitution of “sent, and” for “sent.” in paragraph (c);

(II) by the insertion after paragraph (c) of the following paragraph:

“(d) that he does not wish his name and address to be used for a purpose other than an electoral or other statutory purpose.”;

(ii) in Rule 14—

(I) by the substitution of “dead, and” for “dead.” in paragraph (c);

(II) by the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (c);

“(d) removing from such register the name of any person, after reasonable enquiry by the registration officer, whose address or the address to which a ballot paper is to be sent is unknown.”;

(iii) in Rule 15 by the insertion of “in printed form or in electronic format” after “copy” in paragraph (d); and

(iv) by the insertion of the following Rule after Rule 15:

“15A. (1) Following publication of the revised register (within the meaning of Rule 15 of this Schedule) the registration officer shall prepare and publish a version of the register by omitting therefrom the names and addresses of registered electors who have requested that such details should not be used for a purpose other than an electoral or other statutory purpose.

(2) Where an elector whose details are included in an edited register requests the registration officer to delete the elector's details from the edited register, the registration officer shall note the request and notify any person who received a copy of the edited register of the request.

(3) The registration officer may supply on request to any person a copy of the edited register or part thereof in printed form or in electronic format on payment of a prescribed fee.”.

57 Amendment of Seanad Electoral (Panel Members) Act, 1947.

57.—The Seanad Electoral (Panel Members) Act, 1947, is amended—

(a) in section 4 by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (3):

“(3A) On the request of the Seanad returning officer for an advance on account of his charges the Minister for Finance may, after consultation with the Minister (irrespective of whether an order under section 24 or 56 of this Act has been made or not) if he thinks fit, and on such terms as he thinks fit, make such an advance.”;

(b) in section 47 by the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (b) of subsection (1)—

“(bb) a ballot paper may include a photograph of each candidate in accordance with such requirements as may be prescribed;”;

and

58 Amendment of Local Elections (Disclosure of Donations and Expenditure) Act, 1999.

58.—The Local Elections (Disclosure of Donations and Expenditure) Act, 1999, is amended—

(a) in section 2(1)—

(i) by the insertion in the definition of “donation” after “candidate at an election”, where those words first occur, of “or a member of a local authority, political party or third party in connection with an election, plebiscite or campaign”;

(ii) by the substitution of the following definition for the definition of “local authority concerned”:

“‘local authority concerned’ means the local authority to which a candidate seeks or sought election or in whose functional area a local political matter arises;”;

(b) in section 6(1)(a) by the substitution of “paragraph (aa) and (b)” for “paragraph (b)”;

(i) the substitution of “the outcome of the election.” for “the outcome of the election,”,

and

(ii) the deletion of all the words from “and shall” down to and including “at the election.”,

(d) by the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (a) of section 6(1)—

“(aa) The expenses mentioned in the foregoing definition of ‘election expenses’ shall be those, and only those, set out in the Schedule to this Act.”;

(e) in section 6(1)(b)(iii) by the insertion of “(including accommodation)” after “living expenses”;

(f) in section 6(1)(b)(iv) by the insertion of “(not exceeding £100 in any one payment)” after “minor”;

(g) in section 6(1)(b)(vi)(II) by the insertion of “(including recoupment of expenses)” after “normal remuneration”;

(h) in section 6 by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (8):

“(8A) It shall be the duty of the political party concerned to furnish the relevant material referred to in subsection (8) to the relevant national agent or designated person in sufficient time to enable the agent or person to carry out his or her duties under section 13. A political party which fails to comply with this subsection shall be guilty of an offence.”;

(i) in section 13 by—

(i) in subsection (1) by—

(I) the insertion of “or an elected member” after “a designated person” where those words occur in paragraphs (a)(ii) and (b),

(II) the substitution for “A candidate” where those words occur in paragraphs (a)(iii) and (c)(i) of “An unsuccessful candidate”,

(III) the insertion of “shall be in the prescribed form and” after “The statement” in paragraph (c)(iii),

(ii) the insertion in subsection (2) of “elected member, unsuccessful” after “designated person”,

(iii) the insertion in subsection (3) of “elected member, unsuccessful” after “designated person,”;

(j) in section 14 by the insertion in subsections (1) and (2) of “or a donation statement and a statutory declaration furnished pursuant to section 19E” after “section 13(1)(a)”;

(k) in section 18 by—

(i) the substitution of “section 13, 19D or 19E” for “section 13” in subsection (1),

(ii) the substitution of “section 13 or 19E” for “section 13” in subsection (3)(a) and subsection (7),

(iii) the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (5):

“(5A) Where the local authority requests additional or supplemental information in relation to a statement furnished under section 13 such information shall be provided by the person who furnished the statement and shall be in a form, directed by the local authority, accompanied, if the local authority so requests, by a statutory declaration made by the person to the effect that to the best of his or her knowledge and belief the information is correct in every material respect and that he or she has taken all reasonable action in order to be satisfied as to the accuracy of the information.”,

(iv) the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (8):

“(9) A person shall act in accordance with guidelines or advice published or given to the person under this section unless, by so doing, the act concerned would constitute a contravention of another provision of this Act.”;

(l) in section 19 by the substitution of “section 13 or 19E” for “section 13” in subsections (1) and (2);

(m) by the insertion of the following Part after Part IV—

“PART IVA

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