Derek Nolan (Galway West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

We are in public session. The joint committee met in private session to consider the petitions and I propose to read the recommendations that the committee has agreed to and to open it to members to comment thereon.

The committee has deliberated on petition No. P00044/12 from Mr. Daniel Donovan on revising postal ballot rules. The petition is related to petition No. P00069/12 which we will consider after this. The petitioner mentioned a number of issues in his petition regarding the difficulty in registering for postal votes, namely, the timescale involved. The committee secretariat corresponded with the Department and the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Hogan, on this issue. The recommendation is that the joint committee forward the Department's response to the petitioner, informing him that the Minister has no proposals at present to extend the categories of persons entitled to seek the postal vote or to change the arrangements for the return of the completed application forms.

The committee notes that the Constitutional Convention is expected to consult and publish a report in the coming months on reform of the Dáil electoral system and giving citizens outside the State the right to vote in presidential elections at Irish embassies. The committee suggests that the petitioner may wish to make a submission to the convention, supporting the view that voting rights should be extended to Irish citizens living abroad. The view of the committee is that publication of the report will present an opportunity for informed debate on public policy in this area. The committee considers that in the interim it would be premature for this or any other committee to consider the issue of electoral reform, given that it is before the Constitutional Convention. In the circumstances the committee has decided to close the petition. Is that agreed?