Mr. Art O'Leary:

It is a great pleasure to be back. I sat in this room for ten years in a previous existence. Gabhaim míle buíochas as an gcuireadh a bheith i láthair leis an gcomhchoiste ag an gcruinniú tábhachtach seo. I thank the Chairman for his kind invitation to join the members at this important meeting.Our appearance today marks the very first appearance by An Coimisiún Toghcháin, as Ireland's independent electoral commission before the Houses of Oireachtas, since our establishment in February this year. It is good, from the outset, to have our first committee discussion in these Houses focused on disability rights. Considering our status as a new independent public body, not yet nine months old, I will first take a moment to outline our work and functions. An Coimisiún Toghcháin has taken on a range of pre-existing electoral functions, along with new functions as set out in the Electoral Reform Act 2022. The pre-existing functions include the carrying out of constituency reviews for local, Dáil and European elections, the results of which members may have seen recently; the registration of Ireland’s political parties; the role and work on referendums previously held by the Referendum Commission; and encouraging people to get out and vote across our electoral events. Our newly established roles include preparing research and providing advice on electoral policy and procedure, building awareness of our democratic processes through education and information and overseeing Ireland’s electoral register. We also have functions related to the regulation of political advertising online and online misinformation and disinformation during election periods. These functions, set out in Parts 4 and 5 of our founding legislation, have yet to be commenced. Very pertinent to today’s discussion, we have also been tasked after every electoral event to prepare an independent report on how those events were administered.

It is important to be clear that Ireland is a State that has a long and proud tradition of universal suffrage, but already as a body which is only months old, we have become acutely aware that the universality of people’s access to voting and democratic participation is riddled with obstacles - some of them physical, related to bricks and mortar access; others related to our electoral registration processes; and more still related to the act of voting. Disabled people, while having an explicit guarantee of equal participation in political and public life under Article 29 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, UNCRPD, often face a very different reality when seeking to vindicate that right. While acknowledging that there has been some significant reform in recent times, around rolling registration in particular, accounts of disabled voter experiences during the 2020 general election identified a range of concerns which included: ad hoc arrangements at polling stations to allow persons with disabilities vote in private; inaccessible polling stations; lack of voter information in accessible formats; certain persons not being informed on how to vote due to inaccessible information; Saturday voting which meant personal assistants were not available to accompany potential voters to the polling station; incorrectly installed wheelchair ramps; the postal voting system being unnecessarily complicated and based on an outdated medical model; and postal votes being removed without notice. The report produced by the committee last October on participation in political, cultural, community and public life focused on these issues in-depth following its hearings, and reflects the lived experience of people with disabilities in seeking to be active citizens.

While there tends to be an immediate public focus on the physical access to polling stations for wheelchair users and others, we are seeking to focus from the outset, as Ireland’s Electoral Commission, on a universal design approach to democratic participation. We are taking a holistic perspective which looks to the access people with disabilities and people across our population have to registering, to voting, to political activity including standing as candidates, to accessing results, and being able to engage after each election on how best to make the operation of the next election better. As a newly established Commission we certainly do not claim to be experts in this area, and readily acknowledge that we are now in the early stages of a process which will involve us learning directly from people with disabilities and their representatives about these issues. I am speaking and listening at the National Disability Authority, NDA, annual conference tomorrow within a session focusing on democratic inclusion. In our early work and outputs around the publication of the recent constituency review, we have sought to place accessibility at the forefront of our communications through our consultations, publications, website, digital and video content.

While we are not tasked with the keeping of the register of electors, which remains the preserve of our local authorities, or administering the elections, which remains under the auspices of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, we will have a significant oversight role, which will allow us to report after each electoral event on its administration.

On the electoral register, An Coimisiún Toghcháin may commission or carry out research on the accuracy and completeness of registers, the maintenance of electoral registers, and the processes relating to the compilation, maintenance and functioning of the electoral registers.

Each year, an coimisiún will publish a report setting out its assessment of the status and functioning of the register, and any recommendations the commission considers necessary to maintain and enhance the integrity of the register and the registration process.

The other significant tool in our armoury is our research function. This allows us, as a commission, to identity key issues within our democracy that need specific scrutiny and to make necessary recommendations to the Government. While our inaugural research programme has not yet been laid before these Houses and will shortly be opened for consultation, I can already confirm that our proposed research priorities will have a focus on democratic and electoral participation.

An Coimisiún will conduct and commission research to inform its approach to our education and public engagement remit and to encourage the electoral participation of under-reached groups, including through increasing the representation of women, people with disabilities and people from diverse ethnic backgrounds. According to the census 2022 findings, more than one in five of us, or 22% of our population, reported experiencing at least one long-lasting condition or difficulty. This is an enormous figure.

The next Dáil is likely to see 174 Deputies, representing 43 constituencies. How many, if any, of those Deputies will be disabled people? The answer to that question will significantly depend on how we as a State can support, promote and facilitate people with disabilities to have an equal opportunity to put themselves forward to the voters in line with the UNCRPD.

We are coming into a potentially very busy electoral period, with the possibility of every possible type of electoral event – all eight – being held within the next 24 months. As a new body in the service of Ireland's people and dedicated to building trust in our elections and electoral processes, An Coimisiún Toghcháin is determined to be part of a rights-based approach to identifying and clearing barriers to democratic access and participation.