I beg to propose the motion which appears under my name:—
WHEREAS it is provided by sub-section (2) of Section 5 of the Seanad Electoral Act, 1928, that on or before a date therein, specified preceding a Seanad Election as many qualified persons as there are members to be elected at such election shall be nominated by Seanad Eireann voting on principles of proportional representation for inclusion in the panel of candidates for such election:
AND WHEREAS it is provided by sub-section (3) of the said Section 5 that the method of proposal and selection of persons for such nomination by Seanad Eireann shall be decided by Seanad Eireann:
NOW THEREFORE Seanad Eireann doth hereby resolve and decide that the proposal and selection for such nomination by Seanad Eireann shall be conducted in accordance with the following rules:—
RULES FOR THE SELECTION OF THE SEANAD PORTION OF THE PANEL FOR THE TRIENNIAL ELECTION TO SEANAD EIREANN, 1931.
1. The Cathaoirleach, or, in his absence, a Senator to be nominated by the Seanad at the time of the appointing of the day for voting, shall be the Returning Officer for the purposes of the selection.
2. A voting paper shall be prepared by the Returning Officer in the form set out in the Schedule hereto (Form III), and the names of candidates appearing thereon shall be arranged alphabetically in the order of their surnames and, in the case of identity of surnames, of their other names.
3. All outgoing Senators shall be entitled to have their names placed on the voting paper on furnishing to the Returning Officer a requisition to that effect duly completed in the form set out in the Schedule hereto (Form I).
4. All other candidates must be proposed and seconded by a Senator. No Senator may propose or second more than one candidate, but a Senator may propose one candidate and second another. In the proposing and seconding of candidates due regard shall be had to Article 33 of the Constitution.
5. Every candidate, other than an outgoing Senator, shall be proposed on a separate form, which shall be in the terms set out in the Schedule hereto and shall contain the particulars required thereby (Form II).
6. The Returning Officer shall cause a proposal paper to be supplied to any Senator requiring the same during the period commencing twenty-one clear days prior to the date appointed by the Seanad for the voting to take place and ending at 12 o'clock noon seven clear days prior to such date, which period is herein referred to as the "time for selection."
7. Forms I and II, duly completed, must reach the Returning Officer or such other person as he may appoint for the purpose during such hours, and at such places, as the Returning Officer may fix, but not after the expiration of the time for selection.
8. Every candidate, or a member of Seanad Eireann who has taken his seat therein on behalf of such candidate, shall furnish to the Clerk of the Seanad before the expiration of the time for selection an affidavit duly completed under the Electoral (Amendment) (No. 2) Act, 1927, in the form set out in the Schedule to that Act. Failure to comply with this rule shall be deemed by the Returning Officer to render invalid the proposal paper on which such candidate was proposed.
9. The Returning Officer may reject as invalid any proposal paper which does not comply with the requirements of these rules, or which purports to propose a person who is not qualified to be elected as a Senator or is placed under disability or incapacity by the Constitution or by law, and the decision of the Returning Officer that a proposal paper is valid or is invalid shall be final for all purposes.
10. As soon as practicable after receiving a valid proposal paper, but not later than one day after the expiration of the time for selection, the Returning Officer shall cause a notice of such proposal to be issued to each Senator, and such notice shall contain the name in full of the person proposed, his address, profession or occupation, and a statement of such person's useful public service or special qualifications or attainments in reference to important aspects of the nation's life.
11. Any candidate duly proposed may by notice in writing, signed by him and delivered to the Returning Officer, withdraw his proposal at any time before the expiration of the time for selection, and in any such case the Returning Officer shall as soon as practicable cause notice of the withdrawal to be issued to each Senator.
12. The voting shall be by secret ballot.
13. The voting shall take place at the sitting of Seanad Eireann on such date and during such hours as shall be fixed by Seanad Eireann, and no other business shall be transacted by Seanad Eireann during those hours on that date.
14. Standing Orders 16, 17 and 18 (relating to the presence of a quorum) shall be deemed to be suspended during the time for voting.
15. The Returning Officer shall cause one voting paper to be handed to each Senator who is present at such sitting.
16. The Returning Officer shall cause another voting paper to be handed to any Senator who may inadvertently spoil a voting paper in exchange for the spoilt voting paper.
17. During the hours and on the day appointed by Seanad Eireann for the voting to take place each Senator shall place his voting paper in a ballot box to be provided by the Returning Officer.
18. A Senator in giving his vote must place on his ballot paper the figure 1 opposite the name of the candidate for whom he votes, and may in addition place on his ballot paper the figures 2 and 3, or 2, 3, and 4 and so on opposite the names of other candidates in the order of his preference.
Any ballot paper—
(a) on which the figure 1 standing alone indicating a first preference for some candidate is not placed, or
(b) on which the figure 1 standing alone indicating a first preference is set opposite the name of more than one candidate, or
(c) on which the figure 1 standing alone indicating a first preference and some other number is set opposite the name of the same candidate, or
(d) on which anything is written or marked by which the voter can be identified,
shall be invalid and not counted.
19. The Returning Officer shall cause the voting papers to be counted and the result of the selection to be determined in accordance with the rules set out in the Second Schedule to the Seanad Electoral Act, 1928, and all references to the Seanad Returning Officer in the said Second Schedule shall be taken to be references to the Returning Officer under these rules.
20. The Returning Officer shall declare the result of the selection by causing to be displayed in some convenient place a statement giving the particulars required by Rule 22 of the First Schedule to the Seanad Electoral Act, 1928.
21. In the event of the death or disqualification of any person so selected between the date of proposal and the date of formation of the panel, the continuing candidate credited with the greatest value at the last count, or, where at such count there were no continuing candidates not selected, the candidate last excluded shall be deemed to have been selected in his stead.
22. Save in the case of the signature of Senators proposing the candidates and of the candidates consenting to such proposal, which signatures must be in the handwriting of the persons concerned, expressions in these Rules referring to writing shall include printing, typewriting and other modes of representing or reproducing words in visible form.
23. This Resolution may be cited as the Seanad Election Resolution, 1931.
This motion is purely a formal one and it is pursuant to statute. Its terms are substantially the same as the terms of a motion submitted to the House on the occasion of the last Seanad Triennial Election. It brings into operation the machinery which worked satisfactorily on the last occasion and it is just as likely to work as satisfactorily on this occasion.
