John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)

There will be four European constituency returning officers for the North West, Dublin, East and South constituencies. The 28 European local returning officers will be the county registrars and in the case of Dublin and Cork, the city and county sheriffs. There also will be separate local authority returning officers for the local elections. Dublin South and Dublin Central will each have a Dáil returning officer responsible for the by-election polls. The duties and responsibilities of each cohort of returning officers and the necessary interaction between them will be underpinned in regulations which I will make before polling day. These will sort out the practical arrangements for the combined polls and avoid unnecessary duplication or overlap.

I wish to join with the other Deputies who have paid tribute to the late Séamus Brennan and Tony Gregory.

Finally, I take this opportunity to briefly remind the House of the legislative change I introduced earlier this year, which clarified the period during which election posters may be erected. Candidates in the local and European elections may erect posters only from 30 days before the polling date of 5 June, and this requirement will apply equally to candidates in any by-elections. This means posters for any election held on 5 June may not be erected earlier than 6 May. The requirement for candidates to remove all posters within seven days of the poll still remains and all posters must be down by 12 June. I trust all candidates and all parties will abide by these rules.

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