Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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568. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if his Department is working to ensure that citizens and families experiencing homelessness will be able to vote in the upcoming general election, given that they are not in permanent accommodation because of the housing shortage; the criteria to be followed by those persons currently at temporary addresses; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42585/15]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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In order to vote at an election or a referendum a voter must be registered in the appropriate register of electors for that election or referendum. The Electoral Act 1992 provides for the registration of voters where they are ‘ordinarily resident’. Depending on the circumstances, the registration authority may consider it appropriate to register people experiencing homelessness at a particular address where they may be residing temporarily. The determination of ‘ordinary residence’ is a matter for decision by the registration authority in the light of the circumstances of each particular case.

Where people who are already on the register of electors have moved from one constituency to another or to another address within the same constituency and wish to be registered at their new address they can apply for inclusion in the supplement to the register. To do so, they should complete the RFA 3 form that is available for this purpose and send it to the registration authority for the area where they are currently registered. The RFA 3 form is available from any registration authority and is also available to download from

While the registration of voters is a matter for the registration authorities, I would expect, in the circumstances, that they take a reasonable and common-sense approach to the inclusion of people experiencing homelessness in the register of electors.