Dáil debates
Thursday, 27 May 2010
Priority Questions
Legislative Programme
4:00 pm
Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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Question 5: To ask the Minister for the Environment; Heritage and Local Government his plans to amend the Electoral Act; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22611/10]
John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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Electoral law is subject to ongoing review to make necessary changes to maintain and develop a robust and modern legal framework as a principal element of the operation of our democratic system. In the past five years, five separate electoral Bills have been enacted. In 2009 alone, two were enacted. Looking over the past ten years, an average of one electoral Bill per year was enacted by the Oireachtas having been brought forward by me, as Minister, or by one of my predecessors.
More recently, in February 2010, I published a general scheme of legislation to provide for a directly elected mayor for Dublin. Within this context, necessary legislative provisions in respect of the holding of a mayoral election are currently being developed. These include amendments to the Electoral Acts.
My other plans for amendment of the Electoral Acts relate to the establishment of an electoral commission and to considerations on financing the political system.
The programme for Government, agreed in 2007, contains a commitment to the establishment of an independent electoral commission. The renewed programme for Government, agreed in October 2009, reaffirms this commitment and identifies a range of responsibilities which the commission will be mandated to fulfil.
An independent electoral commission will require new legislation for purposes of its establishment and to transfer to it a range of roles and responsibilities including those assigned to the Standards in Public Office Commission in electoral law, the roles and responsibilities of the Constituency Commission and roles and responsibilities currently assigned to me, as Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. This will involve changes to over 20 primary Acts and to the associated regulations.
Towards implementing the programme for Government commitments, and to assist in consideration of the issues involved, I commissioned a report by an expert group from University College Dublin. I published the report, entitled "A Preliminary Study on the Establishment of an Electoral Commission in Ireland", for consultation in February 2009. The UCD study recommends that an electoral commission be established through the enactment of an electoral commission Act. This Act would amend and consolidate the law in this area, bringing together in one Act the law relating to referendums and elections to local authorities, Údarás na Gaeltachta, the European Parliament, Dáil Éireann, Seanad Éireann and the office of President of Ireland. This would be a major task and it is part of our considerations.
Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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Would the Minister agree that, after three years in office and after putting this in the programme for Government in 2007, the passage of this piece of legislation is quite tardy where he has not even published the heads of a Bill on the independent electoral commission? When will the statutory independent electoral commission, which we support, be established? Nobody on this side of the House would have any difficulty with it. We are just waiting on the Minister to publish a report. Maybe he is having difficulties with his partners in Government.
When will the election for the directly-elected Dublin mayor be held? The Minister has stated that it is his intention to hold it this year, but could he be more definitive than that? Intentions are lovely. He had intentions in 2007 about setting up an electoral commission and we have not yet seen it. When will the Dublin mayoral election be?
John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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We will have the legislation published before the end of this session. I stated that definitively. I have stated, and announced the other evening, as Deputy Hogan will be aware, in response to his own Private Members' Bill, that I will be setting up the electoral commission on a non-statutory basis. The legislation that is required to set it up on a statutory basis is complex and will take a considerable amount of time. However, there are practical difficulties because the franchise section in my Department must concentrate on the considerable amount of work on the mayoralty legislation it is doing in tandem with the Attorney General's office and Parliamentary Counsel, and that is taking a considerable amount of time and effort. Resources cannot be diverted and that is why I stated the other evening that I wanted to set up the electoral commission on a non-statutory basis to begin with.
I also stated, as Deputy Hogan may recall, that when the UCD study was published we asked for observations from various political parties. We received one from the Labour Party but we got no submission from Deputy Hogan's party.
Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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The Minister did not need any submission from me. We had it already published and it was on our website. It is called, "New Politics". If the Minister wants a hard copy of it, I would have no difficulty providing one. The Minister is high on rhetoric and low on output in terms of his promised electoral reform.
Will the Minister be asking the chairman of his party to withdraw remarks made in the context of by-elections when we were discussing my party's Private Members' Bill on setting a limit for when casual vacancies should be filled, namely this notion that a casual vacancy filled within six months would undermine the Government mandate? What does that say about democracy and electoral reform? Could I ask if the Minister will be asking the chairman of his party to withdraw those remarks?
Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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The Minister is not responsible for his party to the House. He is responsible for the Government.
Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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As Senator Boyle is one of the Taoiseach's 11, the Minister is entitled to comment on that.
John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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The Leas-Cheann Comhairle has put it well. The fact is that we responded in detail to Deputy Hogan's Private Members' Bill.
Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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The Minister just said "No".
John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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Interestingly, when the Deputy considers these matters, I am not sure that he is in such a hurry to have a by-election in Dublin South.
Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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We are. The Minister certainly is not.
Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Fine Gael)
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Do not be afraid.
John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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I very much doubt if my good colleague in Fine Gael, Deputy McGinley, is too anxious to proceed so quickly with the by-election in Donegal.
Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Fine Gael)
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The candidate is selected.
John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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Sometimes there is a great deal of posturing in this House. Fine Gael moved the writ for Waterford, but I will tell Deputy Hogan what my personal view on those matters is. I have said it on a number of occasions and I will repeat it again, my view is it makes sense from a cost effectiveness point of view to hold all of these elections together, be it the mayoralty election, the by-elections and the referendum on the constitutional changes that are required. These all could be held at the same time.
Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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They all will be on the same day as the Dublin mayoral elections.
Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Fine Gael)
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And the children's referendum, all on one day.
Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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That concludes Priority Questions.