I propose to take Questions Nos. 218 to 220, inclusive, and 222 to 224, inclusive, together.
In law, the preparation of the register of electors is a matter for each local authority as a registration authority. It is their duty to ensure, as far as possible and with the cooperation of the public, the accuracy and comprehensiveness of the register. My Department issued comprehensive guidance on preparing and maintaining the register of electors in May 2006 and further guidance has issued since then as the need arose and having regard in particular to amendments to the Electoral Acts.
An information booklet on the Register of Electors is available for download from my Department’s website, www.environ.ie - register of electors, in English, in Irish and in fifteen other languages. In addition, my Department has provided multi-lingual prompt cards in seventeen languages to registration authorities to assist them in engaging with the public in their voter registration campaigns.
In November 2014, during the preparation of the current (2015/2016) register, 10,000 posters about voter registration were printed and posted to registration authorities, members of the Dáil, youth organisations, third-level student bodies and multi-cultural groups. Registration authorities were asked to arrange to have these posters displayed in post offices, public libraries, Garda stations, courthouses, local authority offices and other suitable locations. Advertisements were placed in national daily newspapers and on-line advertisements were placed on popular websites during November. All of this activity, which takes place on an annual basis, is aimed at encouraging newly qualified voters to register and at encouraging those registered to check and to update their details.
In addition to this annual activity my Department, in the lead in to any election or referendum taking place, advertises the relevant dates for inclusion in the supplement to the register of electors.
In regard to the broader issue of voter registration in Ireland, I await the report of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment Culture and the Gaeltacht following their consultation on the paper I published in January on the establishment of an Electoral Commission in Ireland. One of the issues being considered in the context of the establishment of an Electoral Commission is the role that the Commission might play in respect of the register of electors. I understand that public hearings in the consultation are to conclude before the end of July and that the register has been a key feature in the Committee’s considerations and in the contributions of the persons engaging with the Committee. The report to be submitted to me on the outcomes from the consultation process will inform the development of an Electoral Commission Bill.
