Electoral, Local Government and Planning and Development Act 2013

PART 1 Preliminary and General

1. Short title, collective citations, construction and commencement

1. (1) This Act may be cited as the Electoral, Local Government and Planning and Development Act 2013.

(2) This Act, other than Parts 8 and 9, shall be included in the collective citation “Electoral Acts 1992 to 2013” and shall be read together with those Acts.

(3) The European Parliament Elections Acts 1992 to 2009 and this Act (in so far as it relates to European Parliament elections) may be cited together as the European Parliament Elections Acts 1992 to 2013 and shall be read together as one.

(4) The Referendum Acts 1992 to 2006 and this Act (in so far as it relates to referendums) may be cited together as the Referendum Acts 1992 to 2013 and shall be read together as one.

(5) The Planning and Development Acts 2000 to 2011 and Part 8 may be cited together as the Planning and Development Acts 2000 to 2013 and shall be read together as one.

(6) The Local Government Acts 1925 to 2012 and Part 9 may be cited together as the Local Government Acts 1925 to 2013 and shall be read together as one.

(7) Parts 4, 5 and 9 shall come into operation on such day or days as the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government may appoint by order or orders, either generally or with reference to any particular purpose or provision, and different days may be so appointed for different purposes or different provisions.

2. Definitions

2. In this Act—

“Act of 1992” means the Electoral Act 1992;

“Act of 1997” means the Electoral Act 1997;

“Act of 2009” means the Electoral (Amendment) Act 2009.

PART 2 European Parliament Elections

3. Amendment of section 2 of European Parliament Elections Act 1997

3. Section 2 of the European Parliament Elections Act 1997 is amended, in subsection (1)—

(a) by substituting “Articles 6, 7 and 13” for “Articles 7, 10 and 13” in the definition of “competent administrative authority”, and

(b) by substituting the following definition for the definition of “the Directive”:

“ ‘Directive’ means Council Directive 93/109/EC of 6 December 1993[^2] laying 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;”.

4. Amendment of section 10 of European Parliament Elections Act 1997

4. Section 10 of the European Parliament Elections Act 1997 is amended, in paragraph (a) of subsection (1), by substituting “fifty days” for “thirty-five days”.

5. Amendment of section 11 of European Parliament Elections Act 1997

5. Section 11 of the European Parliament Elections Act 1997 is amended—

(a) in subsection (2), by substituting the following paragraph for paragraph (d):

“(d) being a national of a Member State other than the State or the United Kingdom, 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”,

and

(b) by substituting the following subsection for subsection (3):

“(3) Where a citizen of Ireland proposes to stand as a candidate at an election in the Member State, other than the State or the United Kingdom, 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.”.

6. Amendment of section 12 of European Parliament Elections Act 1997

6. Section 12 (inserted by section 10 of the Act of 2009) of the European Parliament Elections Act 1997 is amended—

(a) in subsection (2), by substituting “at or before the latest relevant time specified in rule 10 for the receipt of that candidate’s nomination” for “before the expiration of the time appointed by this Act for receiving nominations”, and

(b) in subsection (4), by substituting “the latest relevant time for delivery of the relevant candidate’s nomination paper” for “the latest time for delivery of a nomination paper”.

7. Amendment of section 13 of European Parliament Elections Act 1997

7. Section 13 (inserted by section 10 of the Act of 2009) of the European Parliament Elections Act 1997 is amended, in subsection (2), by substituting “at or before the latest relevant time specified in rule 10 for the receipt of that candidate’s nomination” for “before the expiration of the time appointed by this Act for receiving nominations”.

8. Amendment of section 13A of European Parliament Elections Act 1997

8. Section 13A (inserted by section 10 of the Act of 2009) of the European Parliament Elections Act 1997 is amended, in subsection (1)—

(a) in paragraph (a), by substituting “Second Schedule, or whose candidature is deemed to have been withdrawn in accordance with rule 6(4) of that Schedule” for “Second Schedule”, and

(b) in paragraph (c), by substituting “at or before the latest relevant time specified in rule 10 for the receipt of that candidate’s nomination” for “before the expiration of the time for the receipt of nominations”.

9. Amendment of rule 2 of Second Schedule to European Parliament Elections Act 1997

9. The Second Schedule to the European Parliament Elections Act 1997 is amended, in rule 2, by substituting “the thirty-fifth day” for “the twenty-eighth day”.

10. Amendment of rule 6 of Second Schedule to European Parliament Elections Act 1997

10. The Second Schedule to the European Parliament Elections Act 1997 is amended by substituting the following rule for rule 6:

“6. (1) Where a person named as a candidate on a nomination paper is a national of a Member State, other than the State or the United Kingdom, there shall be delivered to the returning officer at the time of delivery of the nomination paper a statutory declaration in the prescribed form made by the candidate stating—

(a) the Member State of which the person is a national,

(b) the person’s date and place of birth,

(c) the person’s last address in the person’s home Member State,

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

(e) 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,

(f) that the person is not a candidate at the election in any other Member State, and

(g) that the person does not stand deprived of the right to stand as a candidate under the law of the person’s home Member State as a result of an individual judicial decision, or an administrative decision that may be subject to judicial remedies.

(2) The returning officer, immediately after ruling on the validity of the nomination paper in accordance with paragraph (1) of rule 13, shall, in the case of each valid nomination paper, forward to the Minister a copy of the statutory declaration delivered in connection with the nomination paper, and the Minister shall, as soon as may be—

(a) transmit a copy of the statutory declaration to the competent administrative authority of the home Member State of the person who made the statutory declaration, and

(b) request information from that competent administrative authority verifying whether or not that person stands deprived of the right to stand as a candidate under the law of that person’s home Member State as a result of an individual judicial decision, or an administrative decision that may be subject to judicial remedies, and the Minister may ask for such information to be provided within a specified period of time.

(3) The Minister shall, as soon as may be after receiving the information requested in paragraph (2)(b), notify the returning officer as to whether the person stands deprived of the right to stand as a candidate under the law of that person’s home Member State as a result of an individual judicial decision, or an administrative decision that may be subject to judicial remedies.

(4) If, at or before the time specified in paragraph (1) of rule 15 as the latest time for the withdrawal of candidature, the returning officer is notified under paragraph (3) that a person stands deprived of the right to stand as a candidate, the candidature of the person shall be deemed to have been withdrawn.”.

11. Amendment of rule 10 of Second Schedule to European Parliament Elections Act 1997

11. The Second Schedule to the European Parliament Elections Act 1997 is amended by substituting the following rule for rule 10:

“10. (1) The earliest time for receiving nominations shall be 10 a.m. on the day (disregarding any excluded day) after the latest date for the publication of the notice of election.

(2) Where a person named as a candidate on a nomination paper is a national of a Member State, other than the State or the United Kingdom, the latest time for receiving a nomination for that person shall be 12 noon on the seventh day (disregarding any excluded day) after the latest date for the publication of the notice of election.

(3) Where a person named as a candidate on a nomination paper is a citizen of Ireland or a British citizen, the latest time for receiving a nomination for that person shall be 12 noon on the fourteenth day (disregarding any excluded day) after the latest date for the publication of the notice of election.”.

12. Amendment of rule 11 of Second Schedule to European Parliament Elections Act 1997

12. The Second Schedule to the European Parliament Elections Act 1997 is amended, in rule 11, by substituting the following paragraph for paragraph (3):

“(3) The returning officer shall attend to receive nominations at the place specified in that behalf in the notice of election between the hours of 10 a.m. and 12 noon and between the hours of 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. on the day (disregarding any excluded day) before each of the latest dates for receiving nominations specified in rule 10 and between the hours of 10 a.m. and 12 noon on each of the said latest dates.”.

13. Amendment of rule 13 of Second Schedule to European Parliament Elections Act 1997

13. The Second Schedule to the European Parliament Elections Act 1997 is amended, in rule 13—

(a) in paragraph (1), by substituting the following subparagraph for subparagraph (d)—

“(d) The returning officer shall rule invalid any nomination paper relating to a person referred to in rule 6(1) which is not accompanied by the statutory declaration referred to in that rule or where it appears to the returning officer that the said declaration does not conform with the said rule 6(1).”,

and

(b) in paragraph (7), by substituting “section 13(2), rule 6(4) or rule 27(1)” for “section 13(2) or rule 27(1)”.

14. Amendment of rule 15 of Second Schedule to European Parliament Elections Act 1997

14. The Second Schedule to the European Parliament Elections Act 1997 is amended, in paragraph (1) of rule 15, by substituting “latest date for receiving nominations specified in rule 10(3)” for “latest date for receiving nominations”.

15. Amendment of rule 19 of Second Schedule to European Parliament Elections Act 1997

15. The Second Schedule to the European Parliament Elections Act 1997 is amended, in rule 19—

(a) in paragraph (1), by substituting “that apply, under rule 10, to the candidate to whom the replacement candidates list relates and” for “by rule 10 and”,

(b) by substituting the following paragraph for paragraph (2):

“(2) Where a person nominated as a replacement candidate on a replacement candidates list is a national of a Member State, other than the State or the United Kingdom, and a statutory declaration in conformity with rule 6(1) in respect of the person concerned has not been delivered to the returning officer for the constituency concerned pursuant to the said rule 6(1), there shall be delivered to the returning officer at the time of delivery of the replacement candidates list a statutory declaration in the prescribed form made by the person stating—

(a) the Member State of which the person is a national,

(b) the person’s date and place of birth,

(c) the person’s last address in the person’s home Member State,

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

(e) 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,

(f) that the person is not a candidate at the election in any other Member State, and

(g) that the person does not stand deprived of the right to stand as a candidate under the law of the person’s home Member State as a result of an individual judicial decision, or an administrative decision that may be subject to judicial remedies.”,

(c) in paragraph (3)(d)(ii), by substituting, “statutory declaration referred to in that paragraph and conforming thereto is not” for “statutory declaration and attestation referred to in that paragraph and conforming thereto are not”,

(d) in paragraph (4)(a), by substituting, “the latest time for receiving nominations specified in rule 10(3)” for “12 noon on the latest date for receiving nominations”,

(e) in paragraph (5)(b), by substituting, “section 13, rule 6(4) or rule 27(1)” for “section 13 or rule 27(1)”,

(f) by substituting the following paragraph for paragraph (9):

“(9) The returning officer shall, immediately after a statutory declaration referred to in paragraph (2) is delivered to him or her, forward to the Minister a copy of the declaration and the Minister shall, as soon as may be—

(a) transmit a copy of the statutory declaration to the competent administrative authority of the home Member State of the person who made the statutory declaration, and

(b) request information from that competent administrative authority verifying whether or not that person stands deprived of the right to stand as a candidate under the law of that person’s home Member State as a result of an individual judicial decision, or an administrative decision that may be subject to judicial remedies, and the Minister may ask for such information to be provided within a specified period of time.”,

and

(g) by inserting the following new paragraphs:

“(10) The Minister shall, as soon as may be after receiving the information requested in paragraph (9)(b), notify the returning officer as to whether the person stands deprived of the right to stand as a candidate under the law of that person’s home Member State as a result of an individual judicial decision, or an administrative decision that may be subject to judicial remedies.

(11) If, at or before the time specified in paragraph (1) of rule 15 as the latest time for the withdrawal of candidature, the returning officer is notified under paragraph (10) that a person stands deprived of the right to stand as a candidate, the returning officer shall delete the name of the person concerned from the replacement candidates list.”.

16. Amendment of rule 27 of Second Schedule to European Parliament Elections Act 1997

16. The Second Schedule to the European Parliament Elections Act 1997 is amended, in rule 27—

(a) in paragraph (1), by substituting “latest time for receiving nominations specified in rule 10(3)” for “latest time for receiving nominations”, and

(b) in paragraph (2), by substituting “before the latest time for receiving nominations specified in rule 10(3)” for “before the latest time for receiving nominations”.

17. Amendment of rule 96 of Second Schedule to European Parliament Elections Act 1997

17. The Second Schedule to the European Parliament Elections Act 1997 is amended, in rule 96—

(a) in paragraph (1)(b), by substituting “Parliament,” for “Parliament, and”,

(b) by inserting the following subparagraph after subparagraph (b) of paragraph (1):

“(bb) where the person is a national of a Member State, other than the State or the United Kingdom, the person does not stand 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, and”,

(c) in paragraph (3), by substituting “Subject to paragraphs (3A) to (3C), where”, for “Where”, and

(d) by inserting the following paragraphs after paragraph (3):

“(3A) Where a statutory declaration received by the Clerk of the Dáil pursuant to a request under paragraph (1) and in compliance with that paragraph includes a declaration under subparagraph (bb) of that paragraph, the Clerk, shall, as soon as may be, and before performing the duties required by paragraph (3) in respect of that declaration, forward to the Minister a copy of the declaration, and the Minister shall, as soon as may be—

(a) transmit a copy of the declaration to the competent administrative authority of the home Member State of the person who made the declaration, and

(b) request information from that competent administrative authority verifying whether or not that person stands deprived of the right to stand as a candidate under the law of that person’s home Member State as a result of an individual judicial decision, or an administrative decision that may be subject to judicial remedies, and the Minister may ask for such information to be provided within a specified period of time.

(3B) The Minister shall, as soon as may be after receiving the information requested in paragraph (3A)(b), notify the Clerk of the Dáil as to whether the person stands deprived of the right to stand as a candidate under the law of that person’s home Member State as a result of an individual judicial decision, or an administrative decision that may be subject to judicial remedies.

(3C) Where a statutory declaration received by the Clerk of the Dáil pursuant to a request under paragraph (1) and in compliance with that paragraph includes a declaration under subparagraph (bb) of that paragraph, the Clerk shall perform the duties required by paragraph (3) in respect of the statutory declaration—