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Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 14 Dec 1960

Vol. 185 No. 8

Committee on Finance. - Electoral Bill, 1960—Committee and Final Stages.

Sections 1 to 5, inclusive, agreed to.
NEW SECTION.

I move amendment No. 1:

Before Section 6 to insert the following new section:

"6 — The Principal Act is hereby amended by the insertion of the following section after section 8:

‘8A.—(1) A Dáil elector shall be entered in the postal voters list for his constituency if he is—

(a) a member of the Garda Síochána, or

(b) a whole time member of the Defence Forces.

(2) Where, not later than the last day for making claims referred to in Rule 9 of the First Schedule to this Act, an elector who is a whole time member of the Defence Forces furnishes a statement of the place in which, but for his service, he would be ordinarily resident on the qualifying date to the registration officer for the registration area in which that place is situate, the statement shall, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, be accepted as a correct statement and he shall be registered in the constituency in which that place is situate.

(3) (a) In this section "a whole time member of the Defence Forces" means—

(i) a member of the Permanent Defence Force, or

(ii) an officer of the Reserve Defence Force employed continuously on military service or duty during a period during which a proclamation authorising the calling out of reservists on permanent service is in force, or during a period during which reservists are called out on permanent service under section 88 of the Defence Act, 1954, or

(iii) a reservist called out on permanent service.

(b) In the foregoing paragraph "the Permanent Defence Force,""officer,""the Reserve Defence Force,""proclamation authorising the calling out of reservists on permanent service" and "reservist" have the same meanings respectively as they have in the Defence Act, 1954."'

This is a tidying-up amendment. It omits the reference contained in the section of the Bill to temporary absence which, if retained, would throw doubts on the discretion of a registration officer to register persons who are ordinarily resident if they should be temporarily absent from home. It is in order to remedy that, that I wish the House to agree to this amendment. Amendment agreed to.

Sections 6 to 17, inclusive, agreed to.
SCHEDULE.

I move amendment No. 2:

In the third column to delete "section 5." and substitute "section 5; the words Every such list shall be made up according to polling districts.' in Rule 3 of the Rules contained in the First Schedule."

This really is a drafting amendment. Under Section 9 the Minister should have been given power to direct the manner and the order in which postal voters' lists are to be arranged. Under Rule 3 of the First Schedule to the 1923 Act, which the amendment proposes to repeal, it is required that the list be made up according to polling districts. It is felt that that requirement may not, in fact, always be the best method and it is because of that that we have brought in this amendment.

Amendment agreed to.
Schedule, as amended, agreed to.
Title agreed to.
Bill reported with amendments.
Agreed to take remaining Stages to-day.
Bill received for final consideration and passed.
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