Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 9:

In page 12, to delete lines 29 and 30 and substitute the following: "(c) upon the Mayor becoming disqualified for membership of a local authority or for holding the office of Mayor of Limerick under section 13, 13A or 182 of the Principal Act,".

These amendments are linked and relate to the eligibility requirements to run in a mayoral election. The Bill provides that the provisions in the Local Government Act regarding eligibility for, and disqualification from, membership of the council apply equally to the office of mayor as the mayor will be a member of the council and the same standards should apply. This is provided for in Schedule 3.

Eligibility and disqualification for council membership are, in the main, set out in sections 12, 13 and 13A of the Local Government Act. Subject to disqualifications, section 12 provides that persons are eligible for election, co-option and membership of a local authority if they are a citizen of Ireland or ordinarily resident in the State and are 18 years of age. Sections 13 and 13A provide that persons are disqualified from being elected, co-opted or from being a member if they hold certain roles or positions or if other circumstances apply.

Under these collective provisions, the list of persons disqualified from council membership, including running for election, include a member of the Commission of the European Community, a representative in the European Parliament, a member of the Court of Auditors of the European Community, a member of Dáil Éireann or Seanad Éireann or a member of the Garda Síochána. These same provisions apply to the office of mayor.

However, with a view to ensuring a wider pool of candidates are eligible for the mayoral election, with a particular focus on those individuals already involved in political life, when approving the Bill for publication, the Government agreed that a member of Dáil Éireann, Seanad Éireann or the European Parliament may run as a candidate in mayoral elections provided that any such candidate would have to cease such membership if elected mayor. Collectively, these group of amendments achieve this objective. I will now speak to each individual amendment in turn.

Amendment No. 94 deletes paragraphs 3 and 4 of Schedule 3 to remove the application of these disqualifications as they operate to prevent a member of Dáil Éireann, Seanad Éireann or European Parliament from running for election as mayor. Subsequent amending provisions will clarify that other disqualifications in sections 13 and 13A still apply.

Amendment No. 15 inserts a new provision in section 20. This amendment applies the disqualifications in sections 13 and 13A of the principal Act with certain exceptions. It provides that members of Dáil Éireann, Seanad Éireann or the European Parliament are not disqualified from being nominated or elected mayor. However, such members may not hold the office of mayor while retaining that membership. Therefore, a member of the Oireachtas or the European Parliament may run for and be elected mayor but may not hold both the office of mayor and membership of the Oireachtas or the European Parliament at the same time. There can be no dual mandate.

Amendment No. 9 is a consequential amendment required, on foot of substantive amendments already mentioned, to section 13 that deals, in part, with when vacancies arise in the office of mayor. It proposes an amendment to section 13(1)(c) by the insertion of the words "or for holding the office of Mayor of Limerick" to provide to provide that under these new arrangements a vacancy in the office of mayor arises when the mayor becomes disqualified for membership of a local authority or for holding the office of mayor under section 13 and 13A of the principal Act. This clarifies that a sitting mayor who runs and is successful in securing a seat in a Dáil, Seanad or European Parliament election is disqualified from holding the office of mayor and a vacancy arises.

Amendment No. 17 is a consequential amendment required in section 20, on foot of substantive amendments mentioned to section 182 of the principal Act. Section 182 provides that a person convicted of an offence for failing to comply with the requirements of the Part 15 ethics framework is disqualified from being elected, co-opted or being a member of a local authority for five years.

For completeness and consistency with the amendments proposed to sections 13 and 13A of the principal Act, a further amendment is required to section 182(1)(a) to clarify that a person convicted of an offence under Part 15 is also disqualified from election to the office of, or being, the mayor of Limerick. The amendment to section 182(2) extends the provisions in this subsection to the mayor of Limerick. If a person contravenes or fails to comply with Part 15 requirements or acts while disqualified that will not invalidate any act or proceeding of the local authority or the mayor.

Amendment Nos. 31, 32, 40 and 74 are complementary to amendments Nos. 9, 15, 17 and 94 and are intended to provide for the cessation of membership from Dáil Éireann, Seanad Éireann and from the European Parliament where such a member contests a Limerick mayoral election and is successfully elected to the office of mayor of Limerick.

Amendments Nos. 40 and 74, respectively, amend section 42 of the Electoral Act 1992 and section 11 of the European Parliament Elections Act 1997 to provide that a person who is a serving member of the Dáil or the European Parliament shall cease to be such a member when deemed elected to the office of mayor of Limerick.

Amendments Nos. 31 and 32 similarly provide for the insertion of a new section 29B into the Seanad Electoral (University Members) Act 1937 and a new section 80B into the Seanad Electoral (Panel Members) Act 1947 respectively to provide that a person who is a serving Senator shall cease to be a Senator when deemed elected to the office of mayor of Limerick.

Amendment No. 31 relates to the insertion of a new section 36 into Part 5 of this Bill. This new section amends the Seanad Electoral (University Members) Act 1937 by inserting a new section 29B to provide that a person who is a serving Senator shall cease to be a Senator when deemed elected to the office of Mayor of Limerick.

Amendment No. 32 relates to the insertion of a new section 37 into Part 5 of this Bill. This new section amends the Seanad Electoral (Panel Members) Act 1947 by inserting a new section 80B to provide that a person who is a serving Senator shall cease to be a Senator when deemed elected to the office of Mayor of Limerick.

Amendment No. 40 relates to the insertion of a new section 36(h) into Part 5. This new subsection amends section 42(1) of the Electoral Act 1992 by inserting a new subsection (1)(d) to provide that a person who is a serving member of Dáil Éireann shall cease to be such a member when deemed elected to the office of mayor of Limerick.

Amendment No. 74 relates to the insertion of a new section into Part 5. This new section amends section 11 of the European Parliament Elections Act 1997 by inserting a new subsection (5)(d) to provide that a person who is a serving member of the European Parliament shall cease to be such a member when deemed elected to the office of Mayor of Limerick.

These new sections and the amendment to section 36(h) operate in tandem with the proposed amendments to sections 13 and 13A of the Local Government Act 2001 as provided for under sections 20(a) and 20(b) of this legislation. These amendments remove the disqualification from Members of the Oireachtas and members of the European Parliament from being elected or co-opted to, or from being a member of, a local authority.

In the event that a serving Member of Dáil Éireann, Seanad Éireann or the European Parliament stands as a candidate at a Limerick mayoral election and is successful at that election, that person shall cease to be a member of Dáil Éireann, Seanad Éireann or the European Parliament as the case may be when deemed elected by the mayoral returning officer.