Pat Gallagher (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)

As I said on Committee Stage, this amendment is unnecessary. I refer to the EU directive that defines the requirements in this area. It specifies that resident EU citizens wishing to vote in their member state of residence must certify their nationality, address and any other details as are required on the form. They must do this by way of formal declaration which, if inaccurate, makes the person concerned liable to penalties in accordance with the national law applicable. I recognise that the Senator's amendment makes it very clear there should be a fine in the event of a person providing the wrong information. We have agreed on the penalties.

We have had such a formal declaration for 66 years following the enactment of the Statutory Declarations Act. I see no point in deleting and duplicating in electoral law a system that operates satisfactorily. This procedure has been used extensively since then in all types of legislation. Electoral law already provides for such declarations to remove any doubt in the case of registering individuals as electors.

When I first read this, prior to Committee Stage in the Dáil, and saw the term "formal declaration", I presumed immediately as do many Senators that it would require a declaration to be witnessed by a commissioner for oaths.

That is not the case. It can be witnessed by a peace commissioner, a notary public or a commissioner of oaths. We are asking those from other member states resident in Ireland to provide a formal declaration. What we are doing here applies in all member states. It is similar to the statutory declaration for Irish citizens who require a postal vote by virtue of their employment, which must be signed by a peace commissioner or a commissioner of oaths. I do not believe it is more onerous than that. There is no discrimination whatsoever. I am regretfully unable to accept the amendment.