The Chairman's letter to the Department on 2 February 2015 requested a progress report on the matters raised in the joint committee's report of 12 June 2014 which was entitled, Report on the Design and Layout of Ballot Papers used in the Seanad Referendum October 2013". The report had emanated from the committee's consideration of correspondence sent to it following the referendums held in October 2014 in which concerns had been raised about confusion among voters in respect of the design of and the text and language used in the ballot papers used in the referendum on abolition of the Seanad. The Department sent a progress report to the committee on 19 March 2015.
Officials from the Department were invited to address the committee on 22 April 2015.
The committee later extended this to today, having regard to the ongoing work on the referendums on marriage equality and the age of eligibility for election to the Office of the President. I thank the committee for its consideration in this regard.
This meeting is an opportunity to review the Department's progress report. The committee will also be aware that its report of 12 June 2014 was debated in the Dáil last November and that some of the issues raised in that debate continue to be relevant. The committee's report outlined four main recommendations, namely, that the Minister should examine the legislation with a view to modernising it; that the Minister examine the legislation with a view to modernising how a question is put; that the Minister examine the possibility of proofing the wording formally by some means in advance of preparing the ballot paper; and that a permanent electoral commission be established with a mandate to conduct research.
I will take the recommendations on legislating to amend the format of the ballot paper and the possible proofing of the ballot paper wording in advance of referendums together. Following the publication of the committee's report, the Department sought legal advice and consulted the National Adult Literacy Association to identify the steps that might be taken in regard to the format of the ballot paper. Simplification and modernisation of the referendum ballot paper is not a straightforward matter. Article 46 of the Constitution provides that every proposal for an amendment to the Constitution must be initiated by a Bill which is submitted for the decision of the people. The Bill must therefore be the focus of the amendment. A direct question must be put to the voter about the proposed amendment rather than any interpretation or summary of the amendment. Making a question simpler or more obvious runs the danger that a gloss or spin interferes with the real textual question and potentially acts as a forum for referendum information. Recent court cases have emphasised the importance of process in holding a referendum. The Department felt the National Adult Literacy Association had valuable comments to make in regard to the wording of the referendum ballot paper. The association informed the Department that one in six adults between the ages of 16 and 65 years has literacy difficulties. For such individuals, the format of the ballot paper used in the October 2013 referendums may have presented difficulties. Issues identified include the closeness of the Irish and English texts on the ballot paper and the excessive use of capital letters and bold text. Subsequent consultations between the Department and the National Council for the Blind reflected some of the same concerns in respect of people with visual impairments.
Taking these points into consideration, the Minister felt that the focus in the shorter term, particularly with the prospect of two referendums then envisaged for last May, should be on measures that could be taken within the existing legislative framework to assist voters in becoming familiar with the questions on the ballot papers. This does not mean the format of the ballot paper cannot be improved in the medium to long term. A future electoral commission might usefully be given the task of making recommendations on a new form of referendum ballot paper. Depending on the particular amendment of the Constitution being put to the people in a referendum, it may be possible to move to a formula which would continue to focus on the amendment Bill while also expanding the question so that it is more explanatory. This sort of research would, perhaps, be in line with the research mandate for the commission recommended by the committee.
In our progress report of 19 March 2015, we outlined the measures being taken by the Department to improve the format of the ballot paper in the May 2015 referendums. In summary, the format of the ballot paper was changed to make it easier for people with literacy and visual impairments. The Department had a positive engagement with the National Adult Literacy Association and the National Council for the Blind in making these changes. While not meeting all of their requirements, both organisations agreed that the new format of ballot papers used in the recent referendums was a big improvement on the previous format. The changes included the use different and generally larger font sizes, together with better use of upper and lower case letter, bold lettering and shading. A sample copy of a ballot paper was provided to the committee.
Statements for the information of voters prescribed by each House of the Oireachtas were provided in poster form to local returning officers for placement in polling compartments. Approximately 25,000 posters were printed and distributed to assist voters at the point of marking their ballot papers. Senator O'Keeffe made a suggestion along these lines during our discussion with the committee last year. The Department wrote to the Referendum Commission in advance of the May referendums to ask it to consider including a mock up of the ballot papers in the information booklets sent to voters. The commission did so, which meant that voters had sight of the ballot papers and had an opportunity to familiarise themselves with the questions being put to them in advance of polling day. The opportunity to see a mock up of the ballot papers in advance hopefully helped some of those who were confused by the ballot paper in the October 2013 referendums.
In regard to the committee's recommendation that a permanent electoral commission be established with a mandate to conduct research, progress has been made over the last several months. As noted in the progress report of 19 March, the Minister published a consultation paper on 27 January 2015 to commence the pre-legislative process leading to the establishment of an electoral commission. The consultation paper includes the recommendations of this committee. The Minister invited the Joint Committee on the Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht to examine the consultation paper and to consider undertaking a public consultation process to inform the preparation of legislation to establish a commission. The Minister met with that committee on 10 March 2015 and I understand the consultation process is well underway. The closing date for written submissions was Monday, 15 June 2015, and public hearings commenced on 16 June and are to conclude before the end of July. A report will be submitted to the Minister on the outcomes of the consultation as soon as possible thereafter. In any future work on the matters raised in eh committee's report of 12 June 2014, it is important that we do not lose sight of the gravity of the decision voters are asked to make in a referendum and the need for precise language in legal matters. Proposals to amend the Constitution can have far-reaching and profound consequences. In a constitutional referendum, voters are not simply being asked their opinion on a particular issue; they are asked to decide on amendments to the Constitution set out in the relevant amendment Bill.
I hope my brief statement adequately sets out our response to the recommendations made in the committee's report on this matter.
