I move amendment No. 14:
In page 5, to delete lines 4 and 5.
SECTION 8.
Amendment agreed to.
I move amendment No. 15:
In page 5, to delete lines 9 to 11 and substitute the following:
"(d) a person who is ordinarily resident at his residence, applies to be so entered and satisfies the registration authority that—
(i) such person is unable to go in person to vote at the polling place for his polling district by reason of his physical illness or physical disability, and".
Amendment agreed to.
I move amendment No. 16:
In page 5, to delete lines 18 to 20, and substitute the following:
"14A.—(1) Part III of the Second Schedule shall apply to an application to be registered as a postal voter pursuant to section 14(d) as if references in that Part to ‘special voters list' were references to ‘postal voters list' and references to ‘section 17' and ‘section 17(2)' were references to ‘section 14(d)'.
(2) An application from a person for entry in the postal voters list under section 14(d) who, on the date of such person's application, is entered in the special voters list then in force shall be deemed not to be a first application for entry in the postal voters list for the purposes of Rule 19(c) of the Second Schedule, as applied by subsection (1), to an application for entry in the postal voters list under the said section 14(d).".
Amendment agreed to.
Amendments Nos. 17 and 19 are related and may be discussed together.
I move amendment No. 17:
In page 5, line 21, after "statement" to insert "in such form as the Minister shall direct".
The amendments relate to the inclusion of a statement of the penalties relating to interfering with postal votes and the packages sent to postal voters. Amendment No. 17 would give the Minister power to set the form of this statement. I understand from the Minister that this power already exists under the 1992 Act. On that basis, I will agree to withdraw amendment No. 17.
Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.
I move amendment No. 18:
In page 5, lines 24 to 44, and in page 6, lines 1 to 13, to delete paragraphs (d) to (o) inclusive and substitute the following:
"(d) the deletion of paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section 17 and the substitution of the following:
‘(a) such elector is ordinarily resident as a patient in a hospital or in a home or similar institution for persons suffering from physical illness or physical disability and is unable to go in person to vote at the polling place for such elector's polling district by reason of physical illness or physical disability; and',
(e) the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (4) of section 17:
‘(5) An application from a person for entry in the special voters list under this section who, on the date of application, is entered in the postal voters list under section 14(d) then in force shall be deemed not to be a first application for entry in the special voters list for the purposes of Rule 19(c) of the Second Schedule.',
(f) the insertion of ‘postal voters list or the' after ‘entered in the' subsection of (2)(c) of section 133,
(g) the insertion of ‘and the registration of postal voters pursuant to section 14(d)' after ‘special voters' in paragraph 2 of the Table to paragraph (4) of Rule 1 of the Second Schedule, and
(h) the insertion of ‘or registered as a postal voter pursuant to section 14(d)' after ‘special voters list' in paragraph 4 of the Table to paragraph (4) of Rule 1 of the Second Schedule.".
Amendment agreed to.
The Minister may make an oral amendment along the lines he suggested.
I propose to amend amendment No. 18 by deleting the words "as a patient in a hospital" and "suffering from" and replacing them with "with a". That part of the amendment would then read "such elector is ordinarily resident in a hospital or in a home or similar institution for persons with a physical illness or physical disability".
Amendment, as amended, agreed to?
I move amendment No. 19:
In page 6, between lines 13 and 14, to insert the following subsection:
"(2) The Local Elections Regulations, 1995, are hereby amended by the insertion of ‘and a statement of the offences and penalties relating to postal voting contained in Part XV' after ‘to the voter' in Article 31(2).".
This amendment provides for the amendment of the local elections regulations along the lines of the amendment in paragraph (c).
Amendment agreed to.
Amendment No. 20 not moved.
Question proposed: "That section 8, as amended, stand part of the Bill."
On the supplementary register, I ask the Minister to see what we can do as regards the special voter. At present the ordinary voter may get on the supplementary register within a certain period before an election but the special voter, for whom we are trying to cater, cannot do so. We cannot allow for a shorter period of time because of the need for doctors' certificates. Perhaps we could allow for a longer period of time. When the register is produced in February and if a special voter discovers they are not on it, there should be provision for them to be included in the supplementary register. I do not know how that could be done.
Deputy McCormack made a valid point. There are two options available and they are on the list of issues on which I have asked the special committee for its views in terms of the reform of electoral law. It would be preferable to have a comprehensive view to see what other amendments would be appropriate. While I will leave this question in the hands of Deputy Wallace and the committee, I will see if I can come up with a suitable amendment before Report Stage to meet Deputy McCormack's requirements. However, we will not be able to do this next week. If the Bill is to be concluded next week, I will deal with it in the context of the overall package which I have submitted. If the committee wishes to leave this until the new year, I will be willing to see if I can come back with an amendment.
People only realise they are not on the register when it is published and it should not be too late for special voters to be added to the supplementary register. I would be happy if the Minister let us know before Report Stage if we can overcome that difficulty.
When the last referendum was held, people who had been on the register for years found they were no longer on it. We should publish a list of those proposed to be deleted from the register and distribute it to public representatives.
There is a provision for the voter to get on the supplementary register when an election is called and for a certain period after that. However, such a provision does not exist for the special voter.
We can do that. We could encompass it in a miscellaneous electoral Bill which I would be happy to introduce to deal with all the issues on which I would like the committee's guidance. For example, is it a good idea to vote on a Sunday? Are hours of voting suitable? Should voting begin earlier in the morning? Should we have photographs of candidates on ballot papers? We have already decided to have photographs of candidates on ballot papers to help the visually impaired during the next European Parliament election. The use of Braille is an issue which has been raised to which we have not given much consideration. There are a range of issues which could be dealt with in a miscellaneous provisions Bill, if the committee thought about them and made recommendations. Alternatively, if there is a view that we should deal with the supplementary voting list for voters who cannot physically access a polling station, I will reflect on it and come back on Report Stage with an amendment but that will preclude us from taking Report Stage next week.
As regards the overall document, I intend to have a general discussion on these issues in January.
There was much concern about the widespread abuse of this system. This is an area about which we are concerned and have had many representations. This is an opportunity to give the same rights to those with disabilities and those confined to homes and hospitals, which should be a priority. The Minister must do anything he can in this area, irrespective of the views of the committee. A number of gentlemen from County Mayo showed us ballot sheets for European elections with photographs of candidates on them. Much information has been made available to the committee. The point made by Deputies McCormack and Walsh should be dealt with as a priority. I would welcome the Minister's consideration of that.
We should deal with the issue of voters who are not on the list for whatever reason. We should also consider those who become disabled after the register is made available on 15 February. This should be open to people who find themselves unable to report to a polling station because of disability. Rather than leave this for a miscellaneous electoral Bill, which might not see the light of day before a general election, we should deal with this issue now even if we must wait until the new year to take Report Stage.
The points raised by Deputies McCormack, Connor and Dan Wallace are important. The only concern I have relates to the suggestion by the Minister that there are two ways to deal with this. This issue should not delay the Bill. It would be good if the Minister were able to table an amendment on Report Stage next week. However, we should not throw the baby out with the bath water and lose the main principles of the Bill.
There could be an election early in the new year and we do not want it to take place under the current system or to see people being carried up the steps of polling stations and so forth. The Bill provides for the postal vote and access to polling stations and we should proceed on that basis. If the other element can be introduced on Report Stage that will be fine but if it cannot, the Minister can deal with it under the electoral Bill in the new year. We should not delay this Bill.
Could a section be inserted into the Electoral Funding Bill?
No.
I am reluctant to introduce discrimination and that is what we are doing. We are making one law for some people and another law for those who cannot get on a special electoral list. Can the Minister outline the timeframe for the introduction of the other legislation to which he referred?
There is not any timeframe because no Bill has been drafted. I submitted a report to the committee on a range of issues and I will look at the suggestions it makes. It could be some time before the legislation is ready.
It is important, therefore, to get this legislation right. We already have provisions which deal with special supplementary electoral lists and I do not see why we cannot use that for special voters as well.
I support my colleagues on this matter. We will have the worst of worlds if we create discriminatory areas and introduce anomalies in legislation. The Electoral (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill should be proceeded with as quickly as possible. I agree with Deputy McCormack that it would be wrong to pass a measure that does not permit equal access for people who are in greater need of being on a supplementary electoral list. People who have their full faculties have a greater opportunity of ensuring they are on the electoral register. It appears the Minister will not have the amendment ready for Report Stage next week.
It is with the parliamentary draftsman.
Is it possible to insert a section which would permit the Minister to do it by order or regulation?
Fundamental law cannot be changed by regulation.
If you gave yourself that power it would deal with the problem of having to wait for the next Bill. You could introduce a regulation to deal with the issue.
We either deal with Report Stage next week and conclude the Bill or we wait until the new year when I will have an appropriate amendment from the parliamentary draftsman. I cannot state that the amendment will be ready by next week as it must be drafted by the parliamentary draftsman and returned to me.
Deputy Wallace is anxious to include this provision and she has put a great deal of work into it. However, there is no possibility of an election before the new year so it would be better to wait until then. It is better to get the legislation right and include the provisions we are seeking rather than pass the legislation when it contains an anomaly for the sake of passing it before Christmas.
A great deal of work has been done by the Department and Deputy Mary Wallace to improve the Bill. It would be unfair to delay it because of an amendment which the Minister says he can introduce in another Bill——
We do not know when it will be introduced.
I strongly recommend that we proceed with this Bill as quickly as possible. The Minister will have plenty of time to introduce further legislation to deal with this issue. I am not in favour of delaying this measure.
The choice is either to ask the Minister to delay Report Stage until January when the amendment will be ready or to proceed with Report Stage next week and introduce the amendment in the next Bill. What is Deputy Mary Wallace's view?
I am concerned about delaying this Bill. It has been before the House for 12 months. We were given a commitment that it would be law before the bail referendum. We were also told it would not be possible to have the amendments prepared during the summer. The Minister and the Department have been more than helpful but the undertaking given by the Government was that the Bill would be passed by Christmas. That means Report Stage must be concluded next week. Deputy McCormack's suggestion is a good one but the issue can be dealt with at any time under a different Bill. It is not a new problem that has been created by this Bill.
The Deputy wishes to proceed with Report Stage next week. The Minister might examine the alternative of including a section to permit making a regulation or order to deal with the issue.
I do not believe it will be possible to pass the next Bill to benefit those voters before the next election and I am sorry about that. It is a clear case of discrimination.
Let us see what will transpire on Report Stage.
It would be worse if there was no access to polling stations and no postal vote for that election.
I will explore the possibility of including the provision in the electoral funding bill. That has passed Second Stage and will be before the committee in February.
Question put and agreed to.