Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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1090. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the offshore islands not connected to the mainland by bridge or causeway that had polling stations on them for the last general election, in tabular form; the opening times for each of these stations; whether the voting took place on these islands on the same date as polling elsewhere, and, if not, whether polling was one day or two days before; the number of persons on the electoral register at the time in each station; and the turnout on polling day, excluding persons with postal votes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38174/15]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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Electoral law provides for advance polling on islands where a returning officer considers that, due to weather conditions or transport difficulties, it would be impracticable either to take the poll on the polling day appointed by the Minister or, if the poll was taken on that day, to deliver the ballot boxes to the count centre in time for the commencement of the count. In the period following the making of the Polling Day Order, it is a matter for the returning officer to consider the need for advance polling on islands. The returning officer is empowered to take the poll on an island on any day during the 5 day period before polling day and is required to give public notice in any polling district concerned.

Polling at the 2011 General Election took place on Friday 25 February 2011. Information on polling on the islands, as provided to my Department by the relevant Returning Officers, is set out in the following table.

*Electorate as published on 1 February 2011

Information on turnout is only available on a constituency basis and is published in the 31st Dáil General Election February, 2011 Election Results and Transfer of Votes, which can be downloaded at .

Details regarding the opening times of the polls taken on the islands at the last general election are not available in my Department. Provision is made in the Electoral Acts for a shortened polling period on the islands of not less than four hours where the presiding officer is of the opinion that, if the poll was further continued at that stage, it would not be possible for the ballot boxes to reach the vote counting centre in time for the commencement of the count.