Brian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein)
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208. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government if approval will be given to visually impaired voters to vote independently by secret ballot in view of the recent decision by the High Court on this issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16930/17]

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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231. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government his views on the right of visually impaired voters to vote in secret following the recent High Court ruling; the steps he will take to ensure these rights are implemented. [17062/17]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 208 and 231 together.

My Department endeavours to ensure that the voting process is as accessible and inclusive as possible, while ensuring the integrity of the ballot. To that end I made regulations on 20 October 2016 - the Electoral Regulations 2016 (S.I. No. 537 of 2016) - which provide for ballot paper templates to be provided at polling stations at referendums. These templates will facilitate visually impaired voters to vote in secret. My Department is in the process of procuring, on behalf of returning officers, ballot paper templates for use at referendums. A tendering process for this has been completed in recent weeks with the helpful input of the National Council for the Blind in Ireland and returning officers. Existing arrangements, where a visually impaired voter may seek the assistance of a companion or a Presiding Officer, at a polling station, remain unchanged. My Department will, in 2017, continue examination and consideration of arrangements to facilitate visually impaired voters to vote in secret at elections. This will include re-examining the possible use of ballot paper templates for elections.

In the meantime my Department is examining the 30 March 2017 judgement of the High Court in advance of the Order of the Court being made.