Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I agree. This is an important issue, certainly politically for candidates but also for the right of constituents to exercise their vote in their areas and DEDs. It is critically important.

Article 16 of the Constitution sets out clearly and distinctly the overarching requirements that apply to the membership of Dáil Éireann. In addition, and complementary to the constitutional provisions of Article 16.2 in particular, Part Il of the Electoral Act 1997, as amended, provides for a review of Dáil and European Parliament constituencies following each census of population and establishes, among other things, the terms of reference for a constituency commission in respect of the undertaking of such reviews.

In very broad terms, the publication of preliminary census results triggers the establishment of a constituency commission under section 5(1) of the Electoral Act 1997 with the commission required, under section 9(1) of that Act, to present its report on Dáil and European Parliament constituencies to the chairman of the Dáil within three months of publication of final census results.

The timing for the publication of preliminary census results and final census results are matters for the Central Statistics Office, which is responsible for organising each census, but typically these publications have taken place within approximately three months and 12 months, respectively, of the holding of the census. In September 2020, on the advice of the Central Statistics Office the Government decided to postpone the 2021 census due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The next census is now due to take place on 3 April 2022. Against this background, the next review of Dáil and European Parliament constituencies will commence following the publication of preliminary census results.This will be undertaken in compliance with our constitutional requirements and will be completed in accordance with the statutory timeframe currently set out under the Electoral Act 1997.

Unlike the position for Dáil and European Parliament constituencies, there is no constitutional or legislative requirement for the revision of local electoral areas at a particular point in time, such as following the publication of preliminary or final census results. Nonetheless, section 23 of the Local Government Act 2001, as amended, empowers the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to divide a local authority area into local electoral areas and to amend those areas. In advance of deciding to make an order under section 23 of that Act, the Minister must in accordance with the provisions of Part 5 of the Local Government Act 1991, as amended, request a boundary committee to make a report having regard to such matters as may be specified by the Minister. The Minister must publish the report of the boundary committee and must have regard to the report of that committee when deciding to make an order on any amendment to local electoral area boundaries.

As matters currently stand, no decision has been taken on the review of local electoral area boundaries in advance of the next scheduled local elections in 2024. The Senator will be aware that earlier this year the Government circulated the general scheme of an electoral reform Bill to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage for pre-legislative consideration. The general scheme addresses a number of commitments in the Programme for Government: Our Shared Future, including the establishment of a statutory electoral commission. The electoral commission will be independent of Government and will report directly to the Oireachtas. Following its establishment it will, among other matters, take several existing statutory electoral functions from the outset, including the work currently undertaken by the Constituency Commission and local electoral area boundary committees.

I also wish to assure the Senator that we have had very good pre-legislative consideration of the electoral reform Bill. In our discussions around the early establishment of the commission, we probably think that it will be established in the second quarter of 2022, once it obviously goes through its legislative journey. It is critically important that among its early tasks will be looking at those electoral events, the most immediate of which will, hopefully, be the local and European elections of 2024.

I will not give any specific views on the seats in the European Parliament but I certainly believe that it is important that the boundary review would take place to give us sufficient time to prepare for local and European elections in 2024. Gabhaim buíochas.