Andrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."

I thank the Whips office for scheduling this legislation. The Electoral (Amendment) (Hours of Polling) Bill 2013 sets down, in statute, fixed hours for voting in all elections and referenda at polling stations between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. Given that the desire for political reform has never been stronger and the fact we have Friday sittings, which allow us to introduce legislation such as that just introduced by Deputy Cowen, I decided to avail of the opportunity to take an initial step to clarify some aspects of Irish electoral law.

The Title of this Bill is:

An Act to set voting hours for Dáil Elections, Dáil Bye-Elections, Presidential Elections, European Parliament Elections, Local Government Elections and Referenda as being 7.00 a.m. to 10.00 p.m. and for that purpose to amend the Electoral Act 1992, Presidential Elections Act 1993, Referendum Act 1994, European Parliament Elections Act 1997 and the Local Government Act 2001 and to provide for related matters.

Under the current law, the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government sets the hours of polling at elections and referenda within certain parameters, that is, that it must be for at least 12 hours. The existing law requires that voting be conducted between 7 a.m. and 10.30 p.m., for a period of not less than 12 hours.

Increasing and maintaining voting hours would have a positive influence on a sizable section of the electorate who are sometimes described as "circumstantial abstainers". They have been estimated to make up two out of every three non-voters. Some 15 hours of polling, a recently established trend, would certainly have a positive impact on the level of turnout among this section of the population, in particular in commuter counties. Voter participation in all aspects of the democratic process is important for our democracy.

I have seen instances where people who have been inadvertently or wrongly struck off the electoral register have turned up to vote, where people have been moved from one polling station to another one but there is not enough time to get to it and where people have found the polling hours have been curtailed. I have seen how upset they get, and rightly so. Increasing and maintaining voting hours will have a positive influence on the electorate on polling days.

Under the current law, the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government sets out the hours at his or her discretion, subject to electoral law. There is no provision for set or fixed hours of polling at Irish elections or referendums, which is not the norm in EU member states. An inherent problem with the electoral process in Ireland is that there are 31 different Acts and more than 70 statutory instruments covering election law. This makes it very difficult to follow. Such a multiplicity of legislation is not desirable and, as such, there is a reasonable case to be made for legislative consolidation in this area to clarify the rules and to make the voting process more open, understandable and accessible for citizens and voters.

Increasing and maintaining voting hours would have a positive impact among that section of voters to whom I referred to earlier, in particular in commuter counties. In recent years, in particular since 2008, a common trend has been established under different governments where the hours of polling have been 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. on one day. However, the current Government, in the 2012 children's rights referendum and in the 2013 Meath East by-election reduced the hours from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. and 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., respectively, which led to a certain amount of confusion. As someone who was involved in the Meath East by-election, I remember people being very surprised they did not have that extra hour in which to vote. It does not benefit any party or give any section of the electorate an advantage but the people who commute are generally the ones to lose out.

Some counties have very high commuter populations, in particular counties Wicklow, Kildare, Meath and Louth which surround the capital. For many citizens living in these areas, the most convenient time to vote is early in the morning on their way to work in the greater Dublin area or late in the evening on their way home from work. When the hours of polling are cut at either end, this has a disproportionate negative effect on people living in these areas, thus hampering their ability to vote.

Voter turnout on recent days of polling has reached lows where hours of polling were cut.

In Donegal South-West during the children's referendum in 2012, turnout barely reached 24% while in Galway East it reached 28%. I accept that other factors may have been responsible for the low turnout but the result of the election was more marginal than expected. For that particular referendum, just over one third of eligible voters cast their votes nationally. In the Meath East by-election in 2013, when the polling hours were reduced, the turnout did not even reach 40%. Given the considerable focus on the by-election, the turnout was surprising.

The hours of polling as they stand are at the sole discretion of the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government of the day. When a Minister signs a polling order for an election or referendum, he or she can decide which hours to choose within the parameters of current electoral law. Changing hours of polling from election to election, as is currently permitted, creates voter confusion and probably results in lower turnouts. As such, there are inherent problems with our current system.

I will outline the provisions of the Bill. Section 1 seeks to amend section 96(1)(b) of the Electoral Act 1992 by replacing the existing text of the provision with the new text that provides that voting in a Dáil election, including a Dáil by-election, must be conducted between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. Section 2 seeks to amend section 7(b) of the Presidential Elections Act 1993 by replacing the existing text of the provision with a new text which provides that voting in a presidential election must be conducted between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. Section 3 seeks to amend section 13(b) of the Referendum Act 1994, by replacing the existing text of the provision with a new text which provides that voting must be conducted between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. Section 4 seeks to amend section 10(1)(b) of the European Parliament Elections Act 1997 by replacing the existing text of the provision with a new text which provides that voting in the European Parliament election must be conducted between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. Section 5 seeks to amend section 26(2) of the Local Government Act 2001 by replacing the existing text of the provision with a new text which provides that voting in local government elections must be conducted between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. Section 6(1) sets out the Short Title and section 6(2) provides that the collective citation of each Bill will be with the relevant collection of Acts.

The provisions in the Bill aim to consolidate all elections and referenda into a single governing piece of legislation dictating the hours of polling. I would love to have been able to say we would dictate the day but I understand that is not reasonable, in so far as we cannot always be sure. However, other countries do so. Some countries even hold elections over two days. That is something we could consider. We seek to harmonise European law in many ways and in many European countries Saturday and Sunday are the chosen days for holding elections. However, a few schools might be disappointed if we did that.

The Bill seeks to remove the confusion that currently arises by providing in law set hours as I outlined. The Bill removes the Minister's discretion and places the hours of polling on a statutory footing. We have parameters but we do not have definite hours. As of May 2013, a total of 31 Acts concerned with electoral matters are in force and 77 related statutory instruments. The franchise section of the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, which manages elections in the country, has no current plans to consolidate such complex legislation. Such a move to consolidate this area would be warmly welcomed by the general public for reasons of access and transparency in the Irish electoral system.

I am very appreciative of the research carried out by the library and research service, providing details of the voting hours for elections across Europe. The information is based on a survey of EU member states conducted through the European Centre for Parliamentary Research and Documentation, ECPRD, in September 2013. The purpose of the Bill is a voter facilitation measure and will provide in statute for fixed hours of polling between the hours of 7 a.m. and 10 p.m.

The Government has taken numerous steps to reform and improve the political system. I believe the Bill I have published will positively contribute to the agenda of political reform. The Bill is both important and timely. The measures it contains are needed, and will make a very positive contribution to electoral turnout and participation, cut down on confusion and keep us in line with polling mechanisms across Europe. I look forward to hearing the views of Members and to having positive discussions on the proposals and amendments contained in the Bill. I am not sure whether it is allowed, but I thank Graham Butler and Brian Hunt for all their help in drafting the legislation. I commend the Bill to the House

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