Vol. 523 No. 3
11 Mrs. B. Moynihan-Cronin asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the steps the Government will take arising from the recent decision of the High Court that prisoners have the right to vote in elections; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20171/00]
In a reserved judgment delivered on 21 July 2000 the High Court declared that the failure on the part of the State to provide for the applicant, as a citizen of the State among the prison population, the necessary machinery to enable him to exercise his franchise to vote comprised a failure which unfairly discriminated against him and failed to vindicate the right conferred upon him by Article 40.1 of the Constitution to be held equal before the law.
The prison rules do not prohibit the right of a prisoner to vote. However, the Electoral Act, 1992, provides that "Where on the qualifying date, a person is detained in any premises in legal custody, he shall be deemed for the purposes of this section to be ordinarily resident in the place where he would have been residing but for his having been so detained in legal custody".
Under the current electoral legislation there is no provision for prisoners to exercise their right to vote at any location other than the designated polling station for the area in which a prisoner was living prior to his-her incarceration. Under the current legal provisions it would be prohibitive for the Prison Service to provide a means by which prisoners could exercise their consti tutional rights to vote at their home polling station.
Send them all home for the day.
The Prison Service would be obliged to grant temporary release to suitable prisoners and to provide transport and escorts, including armed escorts, to other prisoners who are considered security risks, to a wide range of locations on a single day. Other concerns would be the security of the public, the potential for escape and the secrecy of the ballot.
Would the Minister make special provision for them if they were all Fianna Fáil voters?
Such a situation would also seriously deplete the staffing levels within each prison which could have grave implications for the security and good order of that prison.
The legal position after the judgment and possible responses are under consideration at present in conjunction with the Office of the Attorney General. My Department is also in ongoing consultations with the Department of Environment and Local Government which has responsibility for electoral legislation. I can assure the Deputy that it is the intention to have this issue resolved as quickly as possible.
Does the Minister accept that there is now an obligation on him to provide for the right to vote to people who are incarcerated, and that there is an analogous situation regarding students, who are away from home, to register under the Electoral Acts either in their home constituency or in the constituency where they are studying? Has he considered the implications of that on constituencies such as that of the Taoiseach, where between Arbour Hill and Mountjoy Prison there would be 1,200 registered voters who would constitute a significant portion of a quota and might impact on the outcome of the election in that constituency? Has he had any bilateral discussions with his colleague, the Minister for the Environment and Local Government, to address this issue, bearing in mind that we might be faced with an election at any moment?
Deputy Howlin might have it in his mind that there may be an election at any moment—
I am always ready.
—but can I console him with the news that there will not be one.
On the issue of votes by prisoners, it occurs to me that 1,200 is, to say the least, a considerable number of voters and of course it could have a major impact on an election.
Canvassing would be interesting.
Indeed, canvassing would be interesting and that would need to be considered also. The issue is being discussed with the Attorney General to see whether this issue can be resolved. The issue is, for example, whether it will be appealed. That is being considered. If it is not to be appealed, then measures must be taken to implement the court judgment. Then the issue arises, to which Deputy Howlin has adverted, whether it would be a question of people having postal votes or would canvassing be by post or e-mail. These are all issues which would need to be addressed in the context of the right of prisoners to vote.
I suppose it would be after mess meetings as opposed to mass meetings.
Most voters are expected to exercise their franchise at a designated polling station and interestingly the Electoral Act, 1992, refers to categories for whom an exception may be made; we all know they are postal voters and special voters. My assessment of the situation is that there is nothing in prison rules, so far as I am aware, which states that prisoners cannot vote, but the High Court has made its decision known and until the Attorney General has discussed this matter with us and until we have come up with a conclusion, it would be premature of me to say what that might or might not be.
On the real issue of an election, should there be an election in the near future and application was made by every prisoner to vote, would the Minister accept that he has a responsibility to provide that right to them?
I expect the decision to be made soon as to whether this matter will be appealed but, as matters stand, that is my understanding of the position.
By what date must the Attorney General or the Government make a decision whether to appeal? Would the Minister acknowledge there is a risk that if an election was called while this judgment remained unchallenged that the election might be stopped by a prisoner seeking an injunction in the courts to halt the ballot taking place until voting facilities were made available for him or her and every prisoner in the State? Could the Minister clarify whether in the circumstances he regards himself as a volunteer or as a mere prisoner in Government? Could he indicate whether there is any possibility of his party in a tight electoral situation making provision for a postal vote for prisoners and announcing an amnesty for those who do so vote should he be returned to Government? Would he acknowledge that this is a serious issue and requires a speedy resolution having regard to the real likelihood of a general election within the next few months?
I do not know the precise timing to which Deputy Shatter referred but I will try to ascertain that for him. The difficulty is that the issue of an appeal is being discussed and pending a resolution of that particular matter it would not be wise of me to speculate on precisely what would or would not happen. I take it that a sensible approach will be adopted, as is always the case with the Government. Unlike my predecessor, I am not a prisoner of any party in the Government.
Is a new campaigning group "Prisoners for Fianna Fáil" being established?
Written Answers follow Adjournment Debate.
