Mr. Barry Ryan:

The Chair will recall that last week on Committee Stage of the Electoral Reform Bill 2022 this issue was also discussed. I will describe how an address arrives on a ballot paper in the first place. This happens through the nomination process. The nomination paper is required to have a description of the candidate and it sets out the name, address and occupation. The provision in the legislation requires that the ballot paper has such a description of the candidate on it. There is a degree of flexibility in this regard. We see various iterations of addresses used on ballot papers. There is discretion for the returning officer to accept those. I have seen some people go as far as providing an Eircode but others do not. On the other hand, less accurate addresses are also accepted and indeed constituency offices are often used as addresses. The point is that there is a degree of flexibility as it is.

As Mr O'Leary mentioned, the research programme is out for consultation. If this is something members feel should be looked at by the commission and recommendations made on it in relation to having a specific provision in the legislation on that issue, then it could certainly be fed into the consultation process.