Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 2 July 2015
221. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the measures he plans to take to address the fact that many homeless persons are currently unable to vote in any election or referendum; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26748/15]
View answerIn order to vote at an election or a referendum a voter must be registered in the appropriate register of electors for that election or referendum. The Electoral Act 1992 provides for the registration of voters where they are ‘ordinarily resident’. Depending on the circumstances, the registration authority may consider it appropriate to register a homeless person at a particular hostel or shelter where they may be residing, either permanently or temporarily.
While the registration of voters is a matter for the registration authorities, I would expect, in the circumstances, that they take a reasonable and common-sense approach to the inclusion of homeless persons in the register of electors.
