Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will address the subject of the register too. Senators have raised many times, both here and from my time in the Seanad, and still raise issues about the current register, its efficacy and how up to date it is. While it has improved, what the Senator is seeking is a wholesale transfer of that data from one register to the other. I will address that. I thank Senator Higgins and other Senators for bringing forward the amendments. I understand the intention of the amendment is to ensure the existing electors in NUI and the University of Dublin constituencies are included in the new register. It is important to remember, however, that the higher education constituency is a new constituency, not a merger of existing ones. Therefore, it is not effective, nor do I believe it is appropriate, to simply transfer and add the existing electors from NUI and Trinity College to the new higher education constituency register, because it is a brand-new constituency. I will talk through it. Every single person who is registered will be written to and there will be a public advertising campaign around it.

The good thing is there is sufficient time too because we are legislating for the Seanad election after the next one. That helps us to create a register. There are many people on the register who might not want to be on the register either. There are all those various things. It is up to people to register. If I transfer over or merge two existing constituencies, that is not done anywhere in that sense. I get the Senator's point. I hope I will be able to assure the Senator that it is not going to be the case where we would see thousands of people drop off the register. If anything, it will be the other way round and significantly increase the number of people who are able to vote. This new constituency, as the Senator knows, will be open to degree holders from 16 different institutions, many of whom are new to the process and, as graduates, thankfully, they will now have the first-time opportunity to register. Over time, as other institutions become designated, and I addressed this in previous amendments tabled by Senators Clonan and Malcolm Byrne, Irish citizens who hold degrees for these institutions will also be eligible. All will join the register on the same footing.

Amendment No. 14 was put forward. I say this respectfully, it misinterprets the purpose of the overall section, which is to provide for the new higher education constituency, and takes the reference to "every person who is for the time being registered" as referring to those registered on the current register of electors in one of the two constituencies. That subsection, however, is setting out the future situation and refers to the register of electors for the higher education constituency. Communications will be crucially important in this regard, in particular informing all of those who are eligible of the process and how and what they need to do to engage. As part of preparations on an administrative basis, NUI is engaging with institutions, especially with Trinity College regarding the existing electors. Our understanding from the National University of Ireland is that correspondence is planned for early December, in line with the expectations that the website and the form will be available.

Regulations will also need to be made regarding the prescribed form as provided for in this Bill. NUI and Trinity College will co-ordinate to ensure a consistent approach. Information will be available on the relevant website and through other communication channels in advance to make sure people are aware that the correspondence is coming to maximise the impact. The correspondence will inform those on the current registers of changes and when those changes will take effect, particularly noting that the next Seanad election will be on the basis of the current rules. Existing electors will then be asked to confirm that they wish to be included in the electoral register of the new higher education constituency, which is important too. They will also be asked to indicate if they are an NUI and-or a Trinity graduate for the purposes of by-elections in those constituencies in the interim period. As I said on Second Stage, this will be supported by a public information campaign as well because we are talking about a very significant constituency of citizens. It will not just be letter writing. We have already started the preparatory work. The two universities have already done that. It is a new constituency. While I understand the point the Senator is making, the idea of taking two existing constituencies and merge the data that is in there is not the appropriate course of action. I fundamentally disagree with that approach. A supplementary register would be a completely new departure for the Seanad and would add significant extra work for the central registration authority and the designated institutions, which are already new to this process. We will not be bringing in a supplementary register as part of this. An Coimisiún Toghcháin has an existing remit for post-electoral events, which already covers Seanad elections. The new role for an coimisiún that is being provided here in reviewing the registration process is important too. An coimisiún has already done reviews of the referendums, as the Senator knows, as well as the local and European elections. It will do likewise for the Seanad and will review the Seanad elections after they have taken place.

Amendment No. 22 seeks to require the chief registrations officer to take the step of engaging with existing electors. I hope I have assured Senator Higgins that this is already part of the plans for the implementation of the new process. The chief registrations officer will have the duty to prepare and revise annually the register of electors. The first new register of the higher education constituency will be published on 1 April 2025. The requirement is for this to be an accurate register of those who are qualified in the new constituency on 23 January 2025. We have a good lead-in period to get this right and we will get it right.

As I have said, to help to ensure the accuracy of the register, all graduates will be contacted to inform them that the next Seanad will be elected on the current rules because it is important for people to know that, to inform them of the changes we are making and to ask them to confirm they want to be on the new register. That contact is critical in ensuring existing electors understand the changes that are coming and how they will be affected, including how their data will be processed under the new proposals or processes that will be brought in. For example, Trinity College graduates' information will be shared with and processed by a different body from the one they have engaged with up to now. This contact is appropriate and necessary to ensure that those details are up to date on the new register and that addresses no longer in use or names of people who are deceased are not taken onto the new register. It is very important that this is done. Given that there are people who feature on both existing registers, this step will help to bring clarity and minimise the risk of duplication that would come from adding both electoral rolls together. It also ensures an efficient operation for by-elections for vacancies arising in the next Seanad. I do not propose to accept these amendments. It is up to the Senators to decide if they wish to press them.