Seanad Éireann debate -
Thursday, 13 Feb 1997

Vol. 150 No. 2

Adjournment Matters. - Sunday Voting.

Mr. Hayes

My proposal, which I have put to the Government and for which I am looking for a positive response, is to consider moving the day of national voting from Thursday to Sunday. We have had seven general elections over the past 20 years and the number of people turning out to vote has gone down in each successive election, bar one. It has gone from an average of 76 per cent in 1977 to 68 per cent in 1992. A consistent number of people are not coming out to vote at successive elections and that is worrying. We should not go down the road of the United States of America where only about 50 per cent of the electorate vote.

We have to look at the day we have selected as our day of national ballot. It is not just a day for general elections; it is also a day for referenda and local elections. I contend that Thursday is the most impractical day in the week to vote. I suggest for a number of reasons we should consider the proposal to move it to a Sunday or, if not Sunday, perhaps over the weekend. One must consider the disruption caused to the school system. Thousands of schools close down as a result of voting on Thursday and it causes disruption to parents when children are off school. Many young people are in college or work in one part of the country but live in a different constituency and many of them cannot get home to vote on a Thursday because it is impractical. One must also consider the number of emigrants living in London or other parts of the EU who might come back if the election was held at the weekend.

The number of people working away from home on the day of a national ballot is quite large. People in my constituency spoke to me following the bail referendum and said they could not get out to vote on Thursday because they were working in Kerry or Cork that day. All these difficulties result in the fact that the national ballot has gone down in each successive election over the past 20 years.

The European example is to select a weekend day, preferably a Sunday. The Netherlands and Great Britain are the only two countries in the EU which select a weekday for a ballot. If it is good enough for Spain, Portugal, Italy and Germany, it should be good enough for us. It is a simple proposal for which many people have been calling. Given that it is election year and these matters are being considered, I ask the Government to consider this proposal. I look forward to the Minister of State's reply.

Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry (Mr. Deenihan)

I congratulate Senator Hayes for raising this matter.

The statutory provision on the appointment of a polling day at a Dáil election is section 96 of the Electoral Act, 1992. This allows the polling day at each election to be appointed by order made by the Minister for the Environment. It is a matter for decision on each occasion which day of the week should be appointed for taking the poll. No matter what day is appointed, there will be advantages and disadvantages.

Some of the advantages of Sunday voting would be that: it would facilitate those workers and students who are normally away from home on weekdays; reduce or eliminate school closure and give a wider choice as to the time of day at which people could vote. Against this, there would also be some disadvantages. There could be objections on religious grounds from some denominations. When the question of Sunday voting was raised some years ago with church leaders, the minority churches indicated that they would be opposed on religious and moral grounds — the Catholic Church had no objection; there could be a reduced poll because people go away at weekends, or because of clashes with sporting events, etc; persons returning home at weekends, and registered at the place where they work or study, might not be able to vote and certain sectors of the workforce, such as those in transport, hotels, etc. are required to work on weekends and would find no advantage in Sunday voting.

Recent changes, and proposed changes, in electoral law are relevant to the issue of Sunday voting. A person who may be ordinarily resident in more than one place can choose the place for registration, and hence for voting. The Electoral Bill, 1994, proposes special voting arrangements for electors who are unable to attend their polling station on polling day because of their occupation. This includes students living away from the family home. Returning officers can hire halls and similar premises for voting purposes, even where a school is available, thus reducing the impact on schools of weekday elections. Assembly, canvassing and the use of loudspeakers in the vicinity of polling stations is prohibited, again minimising the impact on schools.

Overall, it is not certain that more people would have an opportunity of voting, and would vote, if elections took place on Sundays rather than midweek as at present. Neither is it clear that voting on Sundays is the only way, or the best way, of facilitating those for whom the existing practice is not suitable. There are many different views on this matter and changes should not be made unless they attract broad support. For this reason, weekend voting was one of the electoral issues referred by the Minister for the Environment in April 1995 to the Dáil Select Committee on Finance and General Affairs for consideration. The committee has yet to deal with the issue. When they have done so, we will be in a better position to review the pros and cons of weekend voting and to decide what our future arrangements should be.

I compliment Senator Hayes for raising this issue. It is one of his favourite subjects and he has been lobbying for it. Hopefully, we can come to the best arrangement for all electors.