Chris Andrews (Dublin Bay South, Sinn Fein)
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87. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will address a series of matters regarding the Moldovan presidential election on 15 November 2020 (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38932/20]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Many countries allow for their citizens resident overseas to vote in national elections. In most cases, voting is facilitated by the country’s network of diplomatic Missions, with Embassies operating polling stations. My Department is responsible for liaising between Embassies based in Ireland and the relevant Irish authorities when an Embassy wishes to operate a polling station in Ireland. On average my Department will receive ten or more requests a year to facilitate the operation of polling stations by foreign Embassies.

In the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, and following consultations with the Department of Health, my Department instituted a number of additional requirements to ensure that public health measures were adhered to where an Embassy wished to operate a polling station. In particular, Embassies were asked to investigate the option of allowing postal or remote voting, where that was legally and constitutionally possible.

My Department was first notified in June by the Embassy of the Republic of Moldova of its intention to operate polling stations to allow Moldovan citizens in Ireland to vote in the Moldovan Presidential elections in November. Following confirmation that it was not legally possible to facilitate postal voting, officials from my Department engaged intensively with the Embassy to ensure that polling would be carried out in compliance with public health guidelines.

With the move to Level 5 of The Framework for Restrictive Measures in Response to COVID-19on 22 October, and following further consultation with the Department of Health, the Embassy was requested to put a number of additional public health measures in place to ensure that voting could be carried out in a safe manner.

Under the regulations governing Level 5 restrictions, in particular Statutory Instrument 448/2020, provision is made to allow for those engaged in providing, or accessing, essential services to move outside the 5km limit. The list of essential services includes “The provision of services essential to the functioning of diplomatic missions and consular posts in the State”. The Department of Foreign Affairs considers the operation of a polling station by a diplomatic Mission to allow its citizens to vote to be a service essential to the functioning of a diplomatic Mission in the State.

Polling stations were set up at the RDS by the Embassy of the Republic of Moldova for the Moldovan Presidential elections, which were held on Sunday 15 November. Following written confirmation from the Embassy of its ability to adhere to public health measures, my Department confirmed that Moldovan citizens who were eligible to vote were permitted to travel outside the 5km limit for the express purpose of accessing the polling stations. Voters travelling to the polling stations had to be in a position to present evidence of their entitlement to vote. The Moldovan diaspora made up approximately 15% of the total numbers voting in the Presidential elections, with polling taking place in a number of countries across Europe.