Amendments Nos. 1 and 2 form a composite proposals. Amendment No. 1 is consequential on amendment No. 2 and both may be discussed together, by agreement.
Electoral (Amendment) Bill, 2002: Committee and Remaining Stages.
SECTION 1.
I move amendment No. 1:
In page 3, between lines 13 and 14, to insert the following:
"(a) in section 15(2) by inserting ‘to the procedure for making applications under subsection (1) and' after ‘shall apply';”.
This is a textual amendment arising from amendment No. 2. Amendment No. 2 will provide that an applicant's declaration on the form of application for entry in the supplement to the register of electors will be witnessed by a member of the Garda, who when satisfied with the applicant's identity, will sign, date and stamp the form. I referred to this on Second Stage.
This kind of procedure is found in the Road Vehicles Registration and Licensing (Amendment) Regulations, 1992, which deal with the refund of motor tax, the Road Traffic Licensing of Trailers and Semi-trailers Regulations, 1982, which concern a replacement trailer licence card and, of course, in passport application forms. Section 68 of the Electoral Act provides that certain postal voters, that is, students and those in certain occupational categories must sign their voting identification documents at Garda stations. Where people are unable to attend at their local Garda station there is provision for facilitating them to register.
I commend the amendment to the House.
I support the amendment. We must strike a balance between making it easy for people to vote and protecting the integrity of the system. This is yet another argument for a national identity card system. It may not be politically correct to say this but society has become too complex and sophisticated not to have one. We demand a level of participation which can be facilitated only by the most sophisticated technology available.
Subsection (2) of the amendment refers to an applicant for inclusion on the supplement to the register and who is unable, "due to physical illness or physical disability" to go to the Garda station or local authority office. I assume this refers to a temporary illness, that the person will be able to vote at a polling station and does not wish to be included on the list of special voters. I see the Minister is indicating that this is the case.
I support this amendment.
Amendment agreed to.
I move amendment No. 2:
In page 5, lines 18 to 22, to delete paragraphs (f) and (g) and substitute the following:
"(f) in section 52(7) by deleting ‘47(1) or',
(g) in section 124(3) by substituting ‘the purposes of subparagraph (ii) (inserted by the Electoral (Amendment) Act, 2001) of section 21(1)(a) of the Electoral Act, 1997' for ‘the purposes of section 48(1)(e)', and
(h) in the Second Schedule by inserting the following in Part II:
‘14A.–(1) Subject to paragraph (2), an application to be entered on the supplement to the register of electors shall be made by the applicant directly to the registration authority and the declaration on the application shall–
(a) before the application is submitted to the registration authority, be signed by the applicant in the presence of a member of the Garda Síochána from the applicant's local Garda station who, on being satisfied of the applicant's identity, including if necessary, by the production of photographic identification and any other identification that may be requested by that member, shall sign, date and stamp the application form, or
(b) where the applicant establishes in writing that he is unable to comply with subparagraph (a), be signed by the applicant in the presence of an official of the registration authority who, on being satisfied of the applicant's identity, including if necessary, by the production of photographic identification and any other identification that may be requested by that officer, shall sign, date and stamp the application form.
(2) Where the applicant is unable, due to a physical illness or physical disability, to comply with paragraph (1), the application shall be accompanied by a certificate in the form directed by the Minister from a medical practitioner certifying–
(a) the nature and extent of the applicant's physical illness or physical disability, and
(b) an indication of the expected duration of that illness or disability.
(3) Nothing in this rule limits the powers that are given to the registration authority under rule 5(3) and that under rule 15(1) apply in relation to the consideration of an application to be entered on the supplement to the register of electors.'.".
Amendment agreed to.
Section 1, as amended, agreed to.
Sections 2 and 3 agreed to.
NEW SECTION.
I move amendment No. 3:
In page 9, before section 4, to insert the following new section:
4.–The Electoral Act, 1997, is amended–
(a) in section 22(2)(a) by deleting in subparagraph (v) ‘the commercial price, or' and substituting ‘the commercial price,' and by substituting the following for subparagraph (vi):
‘(vi) in the case of a contribution made by a person in connection with an event organised for the purpose of raising funds for a member of either House of the Oireachtas, a representative in the European Parliament or a third party or a candidate at a Dáil, Seanad or European election, the proportion attributable to that contribution of the net profit, if any, deriving from the event, or
(vii) in the case of a contribution made by a person in connection with anevent organised for the purpose of raising funds for a political party, the proportion attributable to that contribution of the net profit, if any, that is derived from the event and that, although not specifically raised for the purpose of supporting one or more of the political party's candidates at a Dáil, Seanad or European election, is used for the latter purpose;',
(b) in section 22(2)(b) by substituting the following subparagraph for subparagraph (vi):
‘(vi) expenses incurred by a political party on behalf of a candidate authenticated by the political party at a Dáil or European election, member of either House of the Oireachtas or representative in the European Parliament, other than a donation of money.',
(c) by inserting the following in section 25 after subsection (2):
‘(2A) It shall be a defence to a prosecution of–
(a) the appropriate officer of a political party or the person deemed to have been appointed as the appropriate officer under section 71, or
(b) the responsible person of a third party or of an accounting unit, for an offence under subsection (1)(a) or (b) that he or she did not know and could not reasonably have known of the receipt of a donation acceptance of which is prohibited by section 23 or 23A or a donation the value of which exceeds the relevant amount specified in section 24(4).', and
(d) by substituting the following for subparagraph (d) of paragraph 2 of the Schedule (inserted by the Electoral (Amendment) Act, 2001):
‘ (d) necessary travelling expenses incurred by a candidate or an assentor in meeting the requirements of section 46(4A) and (4B) of the Act of 1992 and section 12(1A) and (1B) of the Act of 1997,'.”.
The amendment provides for three amendments to the Electoral Act, 1997, in addition to the amendment to section 4. The first amendment, in paragraph (iv) provides clarification that where a political party raises funds at an event such funds or part of them can be used for assisting party candidates at an election, notwithstanding the fact that no such reference is made in the notice of the event. This can occur if the event is held before the candidates are known and because one of the main functions of a political party is to support candidates at elections.
While the Standards in Public Offices Commission has indicated in its guidelines for election expenditure at the upcoming general election that it agrees with the above, it is desirable to put the matter beyond doubt. Otherwise, one might argue that instead of the net individual contributions from the event being taken into account for political donations purposes the total net contribution should be used. This could have implications for candidates who cannot accept a donation exceeding €2,539.48 from any one source in any one year. This issue was raised by a number of Deputies from different parties and has been clarified by the Public Offices Commission. The new section will put the matter beyond legal doubt and the interpretation of the commission will be in primary legislation.
The second amendment clarifies the fact that expenses other than money incurred by a political party on behalf of a party candidate at a Dáil or European election, a Member of either House of the Oireachtas or an MEP is not a donation. The source of funding for such expenses will have to be disclosed by the political party if a donation is over a specified limit and any individual donation must not exceed the limits set out in the Electoral (Amendment) Act 2001.
This was raised by Members from different sides of the House. Money spent by political parties, which exist for political purposes and to have candidates elected at local, national and European level, on behalf of their candidates should not be treated as a donation. This does not affect the expenditure limits, which remain in place.
The third amendment provides that it will be a defence for an appropriate officer of a political party or the responsible person of a third party or of an accounting unit, to a prosecution for the acceptance of a prohibited donation under section 23 or 23A or a donation over the specified amount in section 24(iv) or the non-remission of such donations or part of them to the commissioner, if he or she did not know and could not reasonably have known of the receipt of such donations. Similar provisions exist in Parts 5 and 6 of the 1997 Act in relation to election agents.
It is necessary to extend this defence in relation to the receipt of donations after the new provisions in the 2001 Act prohibiting donations. This particularly applies in relation to the larger parties where, despite the best efforts of the appropriate officer, some branch or official may not keep the appropriate officer fully informed, even if no malice is involved.
The fourth amendment repeats section 4 of the Bill, which provides that the cost of necessary travelling expenses incurred by a candidate or an assentor in meeting the requirements of sections (1) or (2) will not be regarded as an election expense. That is in line with existing provisions which provide that election deposits are not regarded as an election expense.
Amendment agreed to.
Section 4 deleted.
Sections 5 and 6 agreed to.
Title agreed to.
Bill reported with amendments.
Question proposed: "That the Bill do now pass."
I thank the Members for facilitating passage of this Bill. We all know there are a number of difficulties with the Electoral Act and it was necessary, particularly in view of the Redmond case, to deal with this matter prior to the general election, which as we all know will be held some time in May. I thank the Deputies opposite for their constructive comments and for facilitating this.
I thank the Minister and his officials for their courtesy and co-operation in this legislation, which was thrust upon us, but we used the opportunity to deal with some outstanding issues of concern to all political parties. As we head into a general election we should leave the House without a solicitor and an accountant on our shoulders.
The Deputy could get one of them as an election agent.
I doubt if I could persuade anyone to be an election agent. I particularly thank the officials. I think we stretched their patience as well as their drafting talents at very short notice.
I compliment the Minister on moving rapidly and effectively in this area and I thank his officials for their support. Because the general election will be held in May, it is probable that it will take place while students are sitting their summer examinations. We should try to facilitate those students in every way.
Question put and agreed to.