Michael McCarthy (Labour)

I move amendment No. 4:

In page 3, between lines 20 and 21, to insert the following:

2.—Section 6 of the Act of 1997 is amended—

(a) in subsections (1)(b) and (2) by the deletion of "statutory declaration" and the substitution therefor of "statement pursuant to this section";

(b) in subsection (2) by the deletion of "said declaration" and the substitution therefor of "said statement";

(c) by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (4):

"(5) A person who furnishes a statement pursuant to this section which is false or misleading in a material particular shall be guilty of an offence and on summary conviction shall be liable to a fine of not more than €3,000 or imprisonment for a period of not more than 12 months or to both such fine and such imprisonment."

I know the Minister addressed this matter in his response on Committee Stage. Under section 6 a European national who wants to be on the register in Ireland has to furnish a statutory declaration. For example, he or she must go to a solicitor to confirm that he or she is not in a position to vote abroad. This is extremely inconvenient and goes beyond the European Union directive, which merely requires a formal statement to that effect. My amendment allows for a more convenient form of statement pursuant to the subsection, which would not need to be witnessed by a solicitor and could be incorporated. It reduces the burden of responsibility on the person in question and reflects the reality of the European directive in a more reasonable way.