Electoral Reform Act 2022

PART 1 Preliminary and General

1. Short title, collective citations, construction and commencement

1. (1) This Act may be cited as the Electoral Reform Act 2022.

(2) The Electoral Acts 1992 to 2019 and sections 6 to 30, 41 to 59, 61 to 69, 72, 77 to 114 and 173 may be cited together as the Electoral Acts 1992 to 2022 and shall be construed together as one.

(3) The European Parliament Elections Acts 1992 to 2019 and sections 75, 115 and 176 may be cited together as the European Parliament Elections Acts 1992 to 2022 and shall be construed together as one.

(4) The Referendum Acts 1992 to 2013 and sections 31 to 40, 117 and 174 may be cited together as the Referendum Acts 1992 to 2022 and shall be construed together as one.

(5) This Act shall come into operation on such day or days as the Minister 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, and for the repeal of different provisions of enactments effected by section 4.

2. Interpretation

2. In this Act—

“Act of 1992” means the Electoral Act 1992;

“Act of 1993” means the Presidential Elections Act 1993;

“Act of 1994” means the Referendum Act 1994;

“Act of 1997” means the European Parliament Elections Act 1997;

“Act of 2001” means the Local Government Act 2001;

“Act of 2006” means the Electoral (Amendment) Act 2006;

“Act of 2014” means the Companies Act 2014;

“chairperson” means the chairperson of the Commission;

“chief executive” has the meaning assigned to it by section 21;

“Commission” means An Coimisiún Toghcháin established under section 8;

“Dáil” means Dáil Éireann;

“Dáil bye-election” means an election of a member of the Dáil to fill a vacancy occasioned by a person having ceased to be a member of the Dáil otherwise than in consequence of a dissolution;

“Dáil election” means an election of a member or members to serve in the Dáil, and includes a Dáil bye-election;

“election” means, as the context may require, a Dáil election, a European election, a local election, a presidential election F1[, a Seanad election or a Limerick mayoral election;]

“enactment” has the same meaning as it has in the Interpretation Act 2005;

“European Communities” has the same meaning as it has in the European Communities Act 1972;

“European election” means an election in the State of members to the European Parliament;

“European political party” means a European political party established and registered with the Authority for European Political Parties and European Political Foundations in accordance with Regulation (EU, Euratom) No. 1141/2014;

“local election” means an election under Part 4 of the Act of 2001;

F2[“Limerick mayoral election”means an election, including a mayoral by-election, held in accordance with Part 1 ofSchedule 2to theLocal Government (Mayor of Limerick) and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2024;]

“Minister” means the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage;

“F2[plebiscite”means a plebiscite held underPart 6of theLocal Government (Mayor of Limerick) and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2024;]

“political party” means a political party registered in the Register of Political Parties in accordance with Chapter 6 of Part 2;

“presidential election” means an election of a person to the office of President of Ireland;

“presidential elector” has the same meaning as it has in section 7 of the Act of 1992;

“referendum” means a constitutional referendum or an ordinary referendum;

“Regulation (EU, Euratom) No. 1141/2014” means Regulation (EU, Euratom) No. 1141/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 October 2014^1 on the statute and funding of European political parties and European political foundations, as amended by—

(a) Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/673 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 3 May 2018^2 amending Regulation (EU, Euratom) No. 1141/2014 on the statute and funding of European political parties and European political foundations, and

(b) Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2019/493 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 March 2019^3 amending Regulation (EU, Euratom) No. 1141/2014 as regards a verification procedure related to infringements of rules on the protection of personal data in the context of elections to the European Parliament;

“Seanad bye-election” means an election of a member of Seanad Éireann to fill a vacancy occasioned by the death, resignation or disqualification of an elected member of Seanad Éireann;

“Seanad election” means an election of a member or members to serve in Seanad Éireann and includes a Seanad bye-election.

3. Power to prescribe

3. The Commission may, by order, prescribe such period as it considers appropriate to be an election campaign period in relation to any election or referendum and different periods may be prescribed in relation to different elections or different referendums.

4. Repeals

4. (1) The following provisions of the Act of 1992 are repealed:

(a) section 13A;

(b) section 13C;

(c) section 14A;

(d) section 15;

(e) section 15A;

(f) section 15B;

(g) section 16;

(h) section 25;

(i) section 25A;

(j) section 25B;

(k) section 25C;

(l) section 85.

(2) Section 19 of the Act of 2006 is repealed.

(3) Sections 5 to 15 of the Electoral Act 1997 are repealed.

(4) The Referendum Act 1998 is repealed.

5. Expenses

5. The expenses incurred by the Minister in the administration of this Act shall, to such extent as may be sanctioned by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, be paid out of monies provided by the Oireachtas.

PART 2 Electoral Commission

Chapter 1

6. Definitions (Part 2)

6. In this Part—

“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;

“Act of 1991” means the Local Government Act 1991;

“approved body” means a body declared by the Commission to be an approved body under section 33;

“ballot paper” has the meaning assigned to it by section 88 of the Act of 1992;

“committee” means a committee established under section 15;

“constituency” means, as the context may require, a Dáil constituency or a European Parliament constituency;

“electoral register” —

(a) means the register of presidential electors, the register of Dáil electors, the register of European electors, the register of local government electors or all such registers as the context may require, and

(b) where the context so requires, includes the postal voters list and the special voters list;

“establishment day” means the day appointed under section 7;

“European elector” has the meaning assigned to it by section 2 of the Act of 1992;

“excluded day” means a day which is a Sunday, Good Friday or a day which is a public holiday within the meaning of the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997, or a day which by virtue of a statute or proclamation is a public holiday;

“Joint Oireachtas Committee” means the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage;

“local authority” means a local authority within the meaning of section 2 of the Act of 2001;

“local electoral area” means an area referred to in section 23 of the Act of 2001 by reference to which a local election is held;

“local government elector” has the meaning assigned to it by section 2 of the Act of 1992;

“local returning officer” has the meaning assigned to it by section 15 of the Act of 1994;

“postal voters list” has the meaning assigned to it by section 2 of the Act of 1992;

“presiding officer” means a person appointed as a presiding officer under section 95 of the Act of 1992;

“recognised accountancy body” means a body granted recognition or deemed to have been granted recognition under section 930 of the Act of 2014;

“referendum returning officer” has the same meaning as it has in section 14 of the Act of 1994;

“Register of Political Parties” shall be construed in accordance with section 41;

“responsible person” means, in relation to an accounting unit, 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;

“returning officer” has the meaning assigned to it by Part V of the Act of 1992;

“Service” means the Public Appointments Service;

“special voters list” has the meaning assigned to it by section 2 of the Act of 1992;

“treaties governing the European Union” has the same meaning as in the European Communities Acts 1972 to 2012;

“third party” has the meaning assigned to it by section 22(2)(aa) of the Electoral Act 1997.

Chapter 2

7. Establishment day

7. The Minister shall, by order, appoint a day to be the establishment day for the purposes of this Act.

8. Establishment of Commission

8. (1) There shall stand established, on the establishment day, a body to be known, in the Irish language, as An Coimisiún Toghcháin to perform the functions conferred on it by this Act.

(2) The Commission shall be a body corporate with perpetual succession and an official seal and shall have the power:

(a) to sue and be sued in its corporate name;

(b) with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, to acquire, hold and dispose of property, other than land or an interest in land.

(3) The official seal of the Commission shall be authenticated by the signature of—

(a) a member of the Commission, and

(b) the chief executive or other member of the staff of the Commission authorised by the Commission to act in that behalf.

(4) Judicial notice shall be taken of the seal of the Commission and every document purporting to be—

(a) an instrument made by the Commission, and

(b) sealed with the seal of the Commission authenticated in accordance with subsection (3),

shall be received in evidence and be deemed to be such instrument without proof, unless the contrary is shown.

(5) Any contract or instrument which, if entered into or executed by an individual, would not require to be under seal, may be entered into or executed on behalf of the Commission by any person generally or specially authorised by the Commission to act in that behalf.

Chapter 3

9. Membership of Commission

9. (1) Subject to this section and section 11, the Commission shall comprise not more than 9 and not less than 7 members:

(a) a chairperson (in this Act referred to as the “Chairperson”);

(b) 2 ex officio members;

(c) not less than 4 and not more than 6 ordinary members.

(2) Subject to this section—

(a) the appointment of a person to be an ordinary member of the Commission shall, upon the nomination of the Government, be made by the President, and

(b) the appointment of a person to be the Chairperson of the Commission shall, upon the nomination of the Chief Justice, be made by the President.

(3) The Chairperson shall be—

(a) a former judge of the Supreme Court, a former judge of the Court of Appeal or a former judge of the High Court,

(b) a judge of the Supreme Court,

(c) following consultation by the Chief Justice with the President of the Court of Appeal, a judge of the Court of Appeal, or

(d) following consultation by the Chief Justice with the President of the High Court, a judge of the High Court.

(4) Each of the following shall, ex officio, be a member of the Commission:

(a) the Ombudsman, or where that office is vacant, the Director of the Office of the Ombudsman;

(b) the Clerk of Dáil Éireann or, where that office is vacant, the Clerk Assistant of Dáil Éireann.

(5) The Chief Justice shall, before the establishment day, following a request from the Minister, nominate a person to be designated by the President as the first chairperson of the Commission.

(6) If, immediately before the establishment day, a person stands designated under subsection (5), the person shall, on that day, stand appointed as the first chairperson of the Commission.

(7) The President shall, before the establishment day, designate persons to be appointed as the first ordinary members of the Commission.

(8) If, immediately before the establishment day, a person stands designated under subsection (7), the person shall, on that day, stand appointed by the President as an ordinary member of the Commission.

(9) Subject to section 11(5), a person shall not be appointed as an ordinary member of the Commission unless a resolution has been passed by each House of the Oireachtas recommending his or her appointment.

(10) Subject to section 11(5), the President shall appoint the ordinary members of the Commission from among such persons as are recommended by the Service and nominated by the Government in accordance with section 10 for appointment as such ordinary members.

10. Recommendations for appointment of ordinary members of Commission

10. (1) This section shall apply in relation to the filling of a vacancy that arises in the ordinary membership of the Commission.

(2) The Minister shall invite the Service to undertake a selection competition for the purpose of identifying and recommending to the Government persons who are suitable for appointment as ordinary members of the Commission.

(3) The Minister shall agree with the Service the requirements relating to knowledge, ability and suitability for appointment as an ordinary member of the Commission for the purposes of a selection competition under this section.

(4) Where making recommendations of persons who are suitable for appointment as ordinary members of the Commission under this section, the Service shall have regard to the desirability of the members of the Commission possessing knowledge of, and experience in, matters connected with the following:

(a) electoral matters, including any experience or expertise gained as a former member of the Houses of the Oireachtas or a local authority;

(b) the administration of the Irish electoral system;

(c) the administration of electoral systems outside the State;

(d) public administration and governance, at a senior level;

(e) expertise in financial matters (including by virtue of membership of a recognised accountancy body);

(f) expertise in information and communications technologies and the application of such technologies in the context of elections and referendums;

(g) advertising and publicity, in particular in relation to the digital aspects of a political campaign.

(5) Where recommending to the Government persons for appointment as ordinary members of the Commission, the Service shall, in so far as practicable, endeavour to ensure that among the ordinary members of the Commission there is an equitable balance between men and women.

(6) The Service shall provide the Minister with particulars of experience, training and expertise of each person whom it recommends under this section.

(7) In exceptional circumstances, where the Government, for substantial and stated reasons, is unable to accept the recommendation by the Service of a particular person for appointment as an ordinary member, it shall inform the Service of that fact and the reasons for it and shall request the Service to recommend another person for appointment as an ordinary member.

(8) (a) Where the number of ordinary members of the Commission is less than 6 and the Commission considers it necessary for the effective performance of its functions, it may, with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform and subject to section 9(1), request the Minister to invite the Service to undertake a selection competition for the purpose of identifying and recommending to the Government persons who are suitable for appointment as additional ordinary members of the Commission.

(b) Subsections (3) to (6) shall apply in relation to the appointment of additional members under paragraph (a).

11. Terms and conditions of appointment of members of Commission

11. (1) Subject to subsection (2), an ordinary member of the Commission shall hold office, unless the member sooner dies, resigns, becomes disqualified or is removed from office, for such period, not exceeding 4 years from the date of his or her appointment, as the President, on the advice of the Government, shall determine.

(2) Such 2 of the ordinary members of the Commission that is first constituted under this Act as are determined by the President, on advice of the Government, shall hold office for a period of 3 years from the date of their respective appointments or reappointments, as the case may be, as such ordinary members.

(3) A member of the Commission shall hold office on such terms and conditions as may be determined by the Government at the time of appointment or reappointment of the member.

(4) Subject to subsection (6), an ordinary member of the Commission whose term of office expires by the efflux of time shall be eligible for reappointment by the Government as an ordinary member of the Commission.

(5) Where it is proposed to reappoint a person as an ordinary member of the Commission, it shall not be necessary for the person—

(a) to participate in a selection competition undertaken by the Service under section 10 or to be recommended for reappointment by the Service, or

(b) to be recommended for reappointment following the passing of a resolution of each House of the Oireachtas under section 9.

(6) A person who is reappointed as an ordinary member of the Commission in accordance with subsection (4) shall not hold office for periods the aggregate of which exceeds 2 terms.

(7) An ordinary member of the Commission may resign from office by notice in writing addressed to the President and the resignation takes effect on the date the President receives the notice.

(8) Subject to section 14(5), the Commission may act notwithstanding any vacancy among its membership.

(9) No person shall, without the consent of the Commission, disclose to any person any information obtained while serving as a member of the Commission or providing services to the Commission.

12. Ineligibility and disqualification of ordinary members of Commission