Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South-West, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Senator for raising the general issue of fraudulent voting. He will understand and will not be surprised to hear that I cannot comment on individual cases, but I will make some general comments because I agree with him that fraudulent behaviour in the voting process strikes at the core of democracy. There are other issues as well. We all, as the Senator said, have put ourselves up for election. It is a stressful time, including for our families and our friends, and one does so in the hope that we can trust the electoral system. If there is fear that fraud may be carried our or that votes are cast inappropriately, it undermines that. It undermines not only us as candidates but also democracy in general and means that people's voices, essentially, are not heard in the way they should be. I just wanted to make that general comment at the start and say that I cannot, as the Senator knows well, comment on individual cases.

The primary role of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage in electoral matters is to provide an appropriate policy and legislative framework for a modern and efficient electoral system. Within that framework, local authorities, in their capacity as registration authorities, are responsible for the management and maintenance of the electoral register, and returning officers are responsible for all matters in connection with the actual conduct of elections and referendums. Electoral law provides for significant measures relating to voter identification and the prevention of personation in order to counteract voter fraud and to protect the integrity of the register. Substantial reforms to the Electoral Acts in 2022 brought about a significant modernisation of the electoral registration process, including the introduction of rolling registration and the use of PPSNs in the application process to enhance the integrity of the electoral register.Local authorities are engaged in detailed work to improve the data quality of their electoral registers in advance of migration to a new national system in 2026. Electoral legislation provides that at the polling station, the returning officer or the presiding officer may, or if required by a personation agent shall, request any person applying for a ballot paper to produce a specified identification document. If a person fails to produce the identification required, they are not permitted to vote. In guidance prepared by the Department in advance of each poll, it is recommended that at least one in four voters should be asked for the required identification.

Electoral law also provides for a range of offences and penalties in this regard. Section 134 of the Electoral Act 1992 provides for the offence of personation. Section 35 of the Electoral (Amendment) Act 2004 provides that it is an offence to take or interfere with a polling information card or to use a polling information card at a polling station that is not addressed to the person presenting it. There are appropriate penalties for both offences. Similar offences are provided for in relation to all polls. The prosecution of offences is a matter for An Garda Síochána and the Director of Public Prosecutions. It is not appropriate for me as Minister of State to comment on a specific case or cases.

Separate to the role of returning officers and local authorities, An Coimisiún Toghcháin, which was established on 9 February 2023 and is independent in the performance of its functions, is tasked with carrying out post-electoral event reviews, oversight of the electoral register, conducting research on electoral issues and making recommendations on same. In combination with wider reforms of electoral registration, the work of An Coimisiún will strengthen our electoral system as a whole and help us to anticipate and respond to the challenges we face in an ever evolving electoral environment.

I have set out the procedures. There are reforms and reviews. The Senator is right; electoral fraud cuts to the core of our democracy and damages it. It should of course be taken seriously. Anywhere fraud is happening, those cases should be taken seriously and there should be serious penalties for anyone involved.