Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 21 April 2021
674. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will report on the recruitment process of the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission; the location of the advertisement; the way in which the selection process is undertaken; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18290/21]
View answerThe Programme for Government – Our Shared Future – commits to the establishment of an Electoral Commission for Ireland, which will take on a range of electoral functions. In October 2020, the Government approved the drafting of a General Scheme of an Electoral Reform Bill which would, inter alia, provide for the establishment of a statutory, independent Electoral Commission. The General Scheme was approved by Government in December 2020 and published in January 2021 and it is available on my Department's website at the following link https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/34cf6-general-scheme-of-the-electoral-reform-bill-2020/. The Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage is currently carrying out pre-legislative scrutiny of the General Scheme.
Head 5 in the General Scheme provides that the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission be a serving or former judge of the High Court, the Supreme Court or the Court of Appeal, nominated by the Chief Justice and appointed by the President.
