Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)
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Question 374: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he will clarify the position regarding civil and public servants standing for the local elections. [9514/09]

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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Sections 13 and 13A of the Local Government Act 2001 as amended set out the various disqualifications from election or co-option to, or membership of, a local authority.

Among those disqualified are: members of the Garda Síochána; wholetime members of the Defence Forces; civil servants who are not by terms of employment expressly permitted to be a member of a local authority; persons employed by a local authority who are not the holder of a class, description or grade of employment designated by order of the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government under section 161 of the Act; and employees of the Health Service Executive who are at a grade or of a description of employment designated by order of the Minister for Health and Children.

As far as employees of local authorities are concerned, the employments designated under section 161 of the Act are those employments whose maximum remuneration, on the last date for receipt of nominations at a local election, does not exceed the maximum remuneration for the grade of Clerical Officer.

Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)
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Question 375: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he will end the ban on local election candidates using the term "Independent" on ballot papers in June 2009. [9515/09]

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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Electoral law sets out a procedure for the nomination of candidates including a provision enabling a candidate to include, on his or her nomination paper, and which subsequently appears on the ballot paper, a reference to the registered political party of which he or she is a candidate. Persons who are not members of a political party may enter on the nomination paper the expression "Non-Party" or may leave the space blank. These provisions are based on the premise that the expression "Non-Party" on the ballot paper indicates adequately that a person does not belong to a political party. There are no proposals for legislative change in this regard.

It may be noted that the Supreme Court judgment of 13 November 2006 in the cases of King/ Cooney/Riordan upheld the legislative provision for the description "Non-Party" on the ballot paper of candidates who are not members of registered political parties. The Court in its judgment observed, inter alia, that there is no reason to conclude that the description "Non-Party" on the ballot paper is misleading.