Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Electoral Reform Bill 2022 sets out wide-ranging reforms to modernise our electoral structures and processes.It fulfils many of the electoral reform commitments described in the Programme for Government: Our Shared Future. I will now set out the main provisions of the Bill.

Part 2 provides the legislative basis for the electoral commission. Chapter 3 of Part 2 sets out the governance arrangements. Chapters 4 to 8, inclusive, of Part 2 provide for the transfer of existing electoral functions to an coimisiún. It will take over the work formerly carried out by the Referendum Commission. It will be responsible for the register of political parties. It will conduct reviews of Dáil and European Parliament constituencies and also conduct reviews of local electoral area boundaries, with this role being transferred from the local electoral area boundary committees.

Chapter 9 of Part 2 provides for an coimisiún to take on a new policy research and advisory function. As part of this role, it will conduct research on electoral policy and procedure and provide advice and recommendations, as required, to the Minister and the Government on electoral issues. Annual research programmes will be prepared in consultation with the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage. An coimisiún will also promote public awareness of and work to increase public participation in the State’s electoral and democratic processes through education and information programmes. It is empowered to produce ex postreports on how electoral events were administered.

Chapter 10 provides that an coimisiún will have an oversight role regarding the register of electors, which will still be maintained and updated by registration authorities.

Part 3 provides for the new and modernised arrangements for the registration of electors and amends key earlier electoral Acts. Many amendments relate to technical updates arising from the move to a rolling register.

Section 83 provides a new process for people who have no fixed premises at which they are ordinarily registered to facilitate their inclusion on the electoral register.

Section 85 provides for the introduction of continuous registration by providing that the register in force at the time of commencement will remain in force to be updated.

Section 86 provides that the Minister may, by regulation, designate a single registration authority to establish, manage and maintain a shared database for use by all registration authorities. Each local authority will remain responsible for its own register.

Section 88 provides for the data-sharing framework that will provide for the sharing of information between local authorities to maintain and update the register and the legal basis for the identity data cross-check between registration authorities and the Minister for Social Protection and the potential periodic data-sharing exercise. Data protection tests for necessity and proportionality are included throughout this section.

Sections 89 and 93 make changes to postal voting provisions and special voting provisions and extend their availability to people with mental health difficulties that affect their ability to attend a polling station.

Section 91 provides for a new individual application process for entry to the register or for updating details and for the right of appeal.

Section 92 introduces anonymous registration for those whose safety might be at risk if their name and address or that of a member of their household were published. A postal vote is provided for in such cases.

Section 94 provides for the new and pending electoral list which will enable pre-registration by 16- and 17-year-olds.

Section 97 provides for reporting by each registration authority.

Section 99 sets out a new process for third-party claims in respect of possible inaccuracies with the register and provides for a right of appeal.

Section 105 makes a series of changes to the second Schedule to the 1992 Act. This includes specifying the information that authorities may require for their functions, including Eircodes, personal public service numbers, or PPSNs, and dates of birth. Together, these changes will result in a more modern and accessible registration process, giving rise to a more accurate and up-to-date register of electors.

Part 4 runs from sections 118 to 141 and provides for transparency in respect of online political advertisements that have been purchased to run during the period of an election or referendum campaign. Its key features are as follows. It requires the compulsory labelling of paid online political advertisements during electoral periods. In effect, each online political advertisement must be labelled as a political advertisement and must provide a link to specified information for voters on who is behind the advertisement, the total cost of the advertisement and why they are being targeted. It sets out the obligations on online platforms, the buyers of online political advertisements and the restrictions that apply when such advertisements are being purchased from outside the State. This Part empowers an coimisiún to appoint authorised officers to monitor compliance with the provisions of Part 4 and to investigate any suspected breaches by online platforms or buyers of online political advertising to determine if enforcement action is needed. Outside election periods, an coimisiún may issue compliance notices in response to any contraventions of the requirements of Part 4. Finally, this Part provides for a streamlined enforcement procedure, which will apply during the relatively narrow focus of an electoral period.

In addition to the provisions of Part 4, I flag as well that the Attorney General was requested to prepare proposals and options for inclusion in the Bill around the protection of the integrity of our electoral process. These draft proposals were published on 10 June 2022 and are available on www.gov.ie. Any necessary amendments to the Bill arising from this work will be brought forward as the legislation progresses.

Parts 3 and 5 include legislative amendments to facilitate the holding of polls if public health restrictions are in place during a pandemic. These elements include the provision of alternative voting arrangements for special voters, such as long-stay residents in nursing homes, and flexibility for returning officers to allow polling to take place at electoral events over more than one day to facilitate social distancing at polling stations.

Part 6 strengthens our regulations concerning political donations and accounts. The Bill provides the Standards in Public Office Commission, SIPO, with a wide range of investigatory and enforcement powers, which are modelled on similar powers that SIPO currently has under the Regulation of Lobbying Act 2015. Section 154 requires that the leaders of political parties provide a written statement and accompanying statutory declaration each year to SIPO stating that donations from outside the State greater than €100 in the preceding year have been declared in that statement. Sections 162 and 167 make several amendments to Part 9 of the Electoral Act 1997 to provide for the preparation of consolidated annual statements of accounts by registered political parties.

Part 7 provides for same-day island voting at electoral events, specifying that voting at electoral events will take place on islands on the same day as the rest of the country. It amends existing island voting provisions to remove early voting, with new powers being provided for the Minister, in consultation with returning officers, to shorten polling hours where required, having regard to local circumstances.

Part 8 clarifies that registered political parties may apply to the District Court for a licence to run periodical lotteries to support their fundraising activities. The value of a contribution made by a person in connection with such an event falls within the meaning of a political donation and so the donation thresholds set in the Electoral Act 1997 apply to such contributions.

As can be seen, the Bill represents significant reform of electoral legislation, processes and structures. It makes our system more accessible and inclusive and harnesses the opportunities presented by technology, while addressing the challenges arising from societal and technological change.

I thank the Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage for its detailed pre-legislative scrutiny of the Bill. The perspectives of the committee and those of the wide range of expert witnesses it consulted were invaluable during the drafting of the Bill. I am glad to say that a significant majority of the recommendations set out in the joint committee’s report are reflected in the Bill. I look forward to this debate.