Mr. Jimmy McMeel:

I thank the Chairman and other members of the joint committee for giving an opportunity to the Department of Finance to contribute to the discussion on the establishment of an electoral commission in Ireland. I would also like to wish the committee well in its deliberations.

My comments will be brief. The Department’s role in the electoral system is quite narrow and specific but it is an important one. I should explain that the costs for returning officers for the conduct of elections and referendums are paid directly from the Central Fund by the Department. The Department is responsible for the Central Fund and for drawing up the finance accounts, which are the annual accounts of that fund.

The Department supports the view that returning officers’ costs should continue to be charged to the Central Fund. The alternative of charging them to a Vote would not be appropriate or practical.

Because of the way the current system works, the Department has much of the accountability for election expenditure, even though its role in the system has been reduced since the establishment of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.

The Department is suggesting that accountability for returning officer costs should transfer to the electoral commission. The costs would continue to be charged in aggregate to the Central Fund. However, the commission would make onwards disbursements to returning officers and would account for them. We think this would be a more transparent system compared to the current approach.

Based on our experience, we also consider that an electoral commission framework around returning officers would enable a greater level of co-ordination among returning officers. This would allow them to resolve common issues and deal with logistical matters on a collective basis. It might even facilitate greater efficiencies in the conduct of elections and referendums.

To summarise, the Department of Finance position is that the electoral commission should have a role in the financial arrangements for the conduct of elections and referendums, and should have accountability in that respect.