Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 20 June 2023
396. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when he expects the new Electoral Commission to be fully functional and in a position to perform all of its functions prescribed by the Electoral Reform Act 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29753/23]
View answerThe Electoral Commission - An Coimisiún Toghcháin - was established on 9 February 2023 by way of the Electoral Reform Act 2022 (Establishment Day) Order 2023 and is now operational. Section 30 of the 2022 Act sets out the functions of An Coimisiún and under section 30(3), An Coimisiún shall be independent in the performance of its functions.
Following its establishment, it has continued to build its expertise and capacity and is currently focused on its review of Dáil and European Parliament constituencies. All of An Coimisiún's functions under the Electoral Reform Act 2022 have been commenced other than those under Parts 4 and 5 of the Act.
The provisions of both Parts 4 and 5 of the then Electoral Reform Bill 2022 were notified separately to the European Commission in accordance with requirements of Directive (EU) 2015/1535 laying down a procedure for the provision of information in the field of technical regulations and of rules on Information Society services.
This notification procedure (known as Technical Regulation Information System or TRIS) aims to prevent the creation of barriers in the internal market before they materialise. Under the procedure, there is a 90-day standstill period following notification of a draft instrument to allow for the consideration of any relevant observations / comments received from the European Commission and from other affected stakeholders.
During the concluding Dáil debate on the then Electoral Reform Bill, I highlighted that both Parts 4 and 5 would be subject to the outcomes of the consultation period under the TRIS notification procedure, with consideration given to these outcomes before commencement of either Part takes place. In addition, I stressed that any comments or observations that might arise from the European Commission from this formal consultative process would be considered in advance of the commencement of Parts 4 and 5, both of which are subject to the making of commencement orders.
Since the standstill periods of the notifications elapsed, my Department has engaged with, and is continuing to engage with, the European Commission in response to the issues it has raised in respect of Parts 4 and 5. It is not proposed to commence Parts 4 and 5 of the Act until all issues raised by the European Commission under the TRIS notifications have been satisfactorily addressed.
