Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)

The main purpose of the Bill is to provide for specific arrangements for postal voting by prisoners. In Ireland there is no legal prohibition on voting by prisoners once they meet the standard qualifying criteria under electoral law which apply on a general basis. However, while a person in legal custody may be registered as an elector, under section 11(5) of the Electoral Act 1992, he or she is deemed to be ordinarily resident in the place where he or she would have been residing but for his or her detention and there is no specific mechanism to enable prisoners to exercise the franchise. The Bill will modernise existing electoral law in this area and provide a practical framework for prisoners to vote. It will bring certainty to Ireland's position in meeting fully our obligations under the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. This follows a judgment of the European Court of Human Rights last year in a case taken against the United Kingdom by a prisoner, Mr. Hirst, who challenged successfully a prohibition on voting.

The scheme contained in the Bill is modelled largely on existing postal voting procedures and mirrors most closely the occupation and student category of postal voter. Postal voting procedures are well established. They are simple, flexible and inexpensive and registration authorities and returning officers are familiar with them. It is prudent, therefore, that we carry them into this legislation.

The Bill provides for applications by prisoners for entry to the postal voters list and, if necessary, the supplement to the postal voters list and the supplement to the register. It also sets out the detailed procedures for prisoner voting. Prisoners will continue to be registered at their home address and, for voting purposes, will be deemed to be ordinarily resident in their home constituency. A prison location will not be used for constituency purposes. Prisoners must be able to establish that they were ordinarily resident in the State prior to being imprisoned in order to avail of the postal voting arrangements. As is the case with all voters, citizenship will determine the type of elections at which prisoners can vote.

There is also a limited number of provisions in the Bill containing miscellaneous amendments to electoral law. A number of additional amendments were made to the Bill during its passage in the other House, primarily related to the register of electors. Senators will be aware that earlier this year I brought forward a package of measures to assist local authorities in their work on preparing the 2007-08 register of electors. As Members of the House will be aware, it is my view that it is an ongoing scandal that the register of electors has been allowed to fall into such extraordinary disrepair. Additional funds were provided this year, a common set of guidelines agreed and a publicity campaign, costing approximately €1 million, undertaken. Amazingly, a common set of guidelines had not applied throughout the country. This has resulted in the most serious and sustained effort to improve the register ever — a registration campaign unprecedented in its extent and intensity. The Bill includes a number of provisions which will further enhance the quality of the register and to which I will return.

I now turn to the detail of the Bill. The first substantive provision is section 2. It allows an applicant who satisfies the registration authority that he or she would be unlikely to be able to vote in person on polling day because of his or her detention in prison to be included in the postal voters list. Prisoners will be registered at the address where they would be ordinarily resident were it not for their detention. A prison location will not be used for constituency purposes and there is no question of an election in a particular constituency being disproportionately influenced simply by the location of a prison within its boundaries. As with all electoral codes, determination of ordinary residence will be a matter for the registration authorities.

Section 3 sets out the procedure for applying for inclusion in the postal voters list. Application forms will be accompanied by a certificate signed by the relevant high level prison official verifying that the applicant is a prisoner for postal voter purposes. The prison official arranges for return of the documentation to the registration authority. There can be no fraud in that regard.

Section 4 provides that the applicant must furnish the registration authority with the necessary information to allow it to decide on the application. The authority can request additional information or documentation. On foot of concerns about possible time constraints on prisoners, a previous mandatory requirement to set a deadline for response by the prisoner was amended in the Dáil. The section now gives a reserve power to local authorities to set a deadline where necessary. If a deadline must be set, it should be a minimum of seven days but, in practice, should often be much longer.

Section 5 provides for public notice each year by the registration authorities of the electors entitled to apply for inclusion in the prisoners postal voters list, how they may apply and the time and place at which application forms may be obtained. This must include every prison located in the authority's area and forms will be supplied free of charge.

Section 6 sets out the procedures to be followed by the registration authority following examination of the application, including the granting or refusal of an application and notification of the decision. Applications cannot be accepted by a registration authority after 25 November but there will be scope to vary this deadline for the first year in which the new arrangements come into operation. This will facilitate prisoners who wish to vote at an election or referendum which may be held in the period immediately following enactment.

Section 7 sets out the procedures for voting by prisoners entered in the postal voters list such as the issuing and return of ballot papers and related documentation by post and the completion of the declaration of identity and ballot papers in secret. Section 7(2) ensures these modifications to postal voting in Dáil elections will also apply to presidential elections and referendums. Sections 8 and 9 amend European Parliament and local elections law governing postal voting to ensure consistency across the electoral codes in the new arrangements. Section 10 amends section 15A of the Electoral Act 1992 to allow a prisoner who is not on the current postal voters list to make an application for inclusion in the supplement to the postal voters list.

Section 11 is a new provision inserted by way of Government amendment in the Dáil. While it is not related to the scheme of postal voting for prisoners as such, it is to help ensure this year's electoral registration process is as effective as possible. The deadline for any person wishing to make a claim for a correction to the draft register has been extended from 25 November to 9 December. Local authorities must prepare and forward the list of claims to county registrars by 12 December as opposed to 30 November. County registrars must return an endorsed list of claims to local authorities by 12 January. As a result, local authorities will have until 2 January to carry out their own amendments to the draft register of electors. The final date for publication of the register for 2007-08 will remain 1 February and the register will come into force on 15 February as normal. If it were to be otherwise, we would have a lacuna and no valid register of electors.

Section 12 amends Rule 14A of the Second Schedule to the Electoral Act 1992. This provision establishes specific procedures for a prisoner not already on the register of electors to apply for inclusion in the supplement to the register and, therefore, qualify for inclusion in the postal voters list.

Sections 13 and 14 amend the principal legislation relating to Seanad elections. They incorporate the expressions "relevant official" and "prison" into both the University Members Act 1937 and Panel Members Act 1947, which are given the same meaning as set out in section 1 of this Bill. The key amendment is in section 14(d)(ii), whereby a relevant official is designated as an authorised person to carry out the specified functions regarding Seanad voting procedures for panel members. In essence, the relevant official is now being included in the list of authorised persons under Rule 8(2) of the First Schedule to the 1947 Act. Existing authorised persons include, for example, the Seanad returning officer, Clerk of the Dáil, county registrars, city and county managers, etc.

The provisions also implement minor procedural adjustments to take account of standard prison postal arrangements. The onus is placed on the relevant official of the prison, rather than the prisoner, to arrange for the voting documentation to be sent to the returning officer through the normal prison postal system. The provisions reflect prisoner voting arrangements under the other electoral codes.

Section 15 allows a prisoner to have his or her name deleted from the postal voters list; for example, this would apply if he or she were released from prison. Where a prisoner is released but still on the postal voters list coming up to an election, alternative procedures are provided to allow him or her to vote outside prison.

Sections 16 to 18, inclusive, are miscellaneous amendments to electoral law which I am taking the opportunity to introduce in this Bill. Section 16 amends section 6 of the European Parliament Elections Act 1997 by the insertion of a new provision which authorises a member of the Garda Síochána or an official of a registration authority to witness the statutory declaration which EU voters are required to submit when registering for the first time in this country to vote in European Parliament elections here. This widens the categories authorised to witness such statutory declarations and will make it easier for voters eligible to vote in these elections to get into the voting system.

Section 17 makes technical amendments to the Local Elections Regulations 1995, mainly relating to the local elections count rules. It deletes qualifications regarding surpluses and exclusions no longer relevant. The purpose of the original provisions, now being deleted by paragraphs (a) and (b), was to ensure individual candidates were given every opportunity to save their deposits by being credited with a number of votes in excess of one quarter of the quota. As the deposit system was found to be unconstitutional, these qualifications are no longer required. This section also repeals provisions relating to the order of election. This is no longer required since the term "alderman" was abolished in 2004, a change which I regret.

Section 18 amends the Presidential Elections Act 1993. It makes technical amendments to the presidential count rules to ensure candidates are given a full opportunity to qualify for recoupment of election expenses. The amendment will bring the presidential count rules into line with the Dáil and European codes. A procedural amendment to allow more time for consideration of nomination papers of presidential candidates is also provided.

Section 19 is another new provision inserted by way of amendment in the Dáil. This provision will enable local authorities to make publicly available lists of persons on the current register but not on the draft register — the so-called "deletions list". It will help make the register more accurate overall and has been widely welcomed by politicians anxious to see it introduced. I regard this as a support to the democratic process. Section 20 is a standard provision dealing with the Short Title, collective citation and construction of the Bill.

This is a short but significant Bill. It modernises existing electoral law in an important way and provides a practical framework for prisoners to vote in future elections and referenda. It goes further than many other nations have gone. It provides an opportunity to build on and maximise the impact of the intensive work on improving the accuracy of the register of electors. I commend it to the House.