Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour)
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To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the current regulations regarding postal voting; if there are any plans in place to bring more flexibility to obtaining a postal vote to facilitate those abroad on holiday, on temporary work assignments or on study placement; is it intended to permit citizens to vote in Irish embassies and consulates abroad; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42393/12]

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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In order to be able to vote at elections and referendums, a person's name must be entered in the register of electors for a constituency in the State in which the person ordinarily resides.

Postal voting is provided for in electoral law in respect of certain categories of person who are entered in the register of electors. The Electoral Act 1992 provides for postal voting by whole-time members of the Defence Forces, members of the Garda Síochána, and Irish diplomats serving abroad and their spouses or civil partners. Subsequent legislation enacted by the Oireachtas has extended postal voting to other categories: electors living at home who are unable to vote because of a physical illness or a physical disability (the Electoral (Amendment) Act 1996); electors whose occupation, service or employment makes it likely that they will be unable to vote in person at their local polling station on polling day and full-time students registered at their home who are living elsewhere while attending an educational institution in the State (the Electoral Act 1997); certain election staff employed at the poll outside the constituency where they reside (the Electoral (Amendment) Act 2001); and electors who because of the circumstances of their detention in prison pursuant to an order of a court are likely to be unable to go in person on polling day to vote (the Electoral (Amendment) Act 2006).

While electoral law is subject to ongoing review, I have no proposals at present to extend existing arrangements for postal voting. The Programme for Government sets out a comprehensive range of constitutional reform measures including the review by a Constitutional Convention of the Dáil electoral system and giving citizens the right to vote at Irish embassies in presidential elections. I will bring forward proposals for change to electoral law in light of the decisions for change which may arise from these processes.