Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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The provisions in Parts 4 and 5 of the Electoral Reform Act 2022 were formally notified in draft form to the European Commission in accordance with the notification requirements of Article 5 of Directive (EU) 2015/1535 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 September 2015 laying down a procedure for the provision of information in the field of technical regulations and of rules on Information Society services.

The notification procedure, which is known as the Technical Regulation Information System (or TRIS) enables the European Commission and Member States to examine draft legislation before it enters into force in order to identify and prevent the creation of barriers to trade in the internal market before they materialise.

Under the TRIS, the European Commission delivered a detailed opinion to Ireland on 5 July 2022. In its detailed opinion, the Commission raised concerns that a number of provisions in Part 4 were incompatible with Articles 14 and 15 of Directive 2000/31/EC (i.e. the e-Commerce Directive). While a detailed opinion did not issue in respect of Part 5, similar observations were made by the Commission on 31 August 2022.

Separately, my Department has been engaging extensively over the course of this year on the Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the transparency and targeting of political advertisingas that proposal progressed through the inter-institutional negotiations. Political agreement was reached between the European Parliament and the Council on that proposal on 6 November 2023.

Given the significant overlap that exists between Part 4 and the EU proposal, it will now be necessary for Part 4 to be brought into alignment with the requirements of the EU proposal within the timeframe for its implementation. Following the proposal’s formal adoption anticipated in early 2024, my Department will give further consideration to the necessary adjustments to Part 4 of the Electoral Reform Act 2022.

In light of these developments, my Department will also examine Part 5 and the amendments that may be needed to commence its provisions as soon as practicable.