Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)
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Question 563: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the rationale for making the edited register of electors available to commercial interests in order that it can be used for direct marketing and other purposes; if he will provide a list of the commercial or other organisations which have been provided with a copy of the register; the revenue which has been generated through this scheme; and the non-statutory uses which the register has been put to since 2004. [31561/06]

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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In response to concerns expressed about uses of the register of electors and following consultation with the Data Protection Commissioner, the Electoral (Amendment) Act 2001 provided for an edited version of the register in addition to the full register.

The relevant provisions are aimed at ensuring that the full register is used solely for electoral or other statutory purposes, while permitting registration details to be used for other purposes, through the edited register, with the consent of the persons concerned. The edited register, therefore, contains only the names of persons who have no objection to their details being used for purposes other than electoral or other statutory purposes.

The edited register provisions came into force on 1 November 2004 and it is an offence, under section 13A of the Electoral Act 1992, to use the full register except for electoral or other statutory purposes. Details in relation to the operation of these provisions are a matter for the local registration authorities in accordance with electoral law.