Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 28 November 2023
339. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department has provided funding to support campaigns to encourage non-EU citizens, or international protection applicants to vote in local elections from 2020 to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52485/23]
View answerIn order to vote a person must be eligible to vote and included on the register of electors. The Electoral Acts set out entitlements for inclusion. Non-EU citizens who are over 18 and ordinarily resident are entitled to vote in Local Elections. British Citizens are also entitled to vote in Dáil elections. EU Citizens may vote in European Parliament and Local elections. Irish citizens are eligible to vote in all electoral events including Referendums as well as Presidential, Dáil, European and Local elections.
My Department has always undertaken annual awareness campaigns in relation to electoral registration and it is now one of the functions of An Coimisiún Toghcháin to promote public awareness of, and participation in, the State’s electoral and democratic processes through public education and public information programmes.
On foot of the enactment of the Electoral Reform Act 2022, my Department carried out three major national awareness campaigns to inform the public of the changes arising from the modernisation of the electoral registration process.
The objective was to inform all electors or potential electors of their entitlement to register and encourage them to do so, or, for those already registered, to check their details and either confirm or update them. Some of the measures undertaken included:
• Advertising across multiple platforms, including TV, radio, social and digital media to reach the broadest possible audience.
• Media assets including videos were shared with local authorities, members of the Oireachtas, student unions, organisations affiliated to the National Youth Council and a range of other organisations including those working with international protection applicants such as the Immigrant Council for Ireland, the Irish Centre for Human Rights, and the Irish Refugee Council.
• Hard copy posters were designed, printed and distributed to various stakeholders who were asked to display them in their public offices.
In addition, a series of existing leaflets including:
• How Members of Local Authorities are Elected;
• The Register of Electors; and
• Information for Voters with Disabilities;
were updated and translated into 16 languages and can be viewed or downloaded on my Department's website at www.gov.ie/en/collection/6c483-information-on-how-members-of-local-authorities-are-elected-in-a-range-of-different-languages/.
Since Local Authorities are responsible for the management and maintenance of the electoral register in respect of their own administrative areas, I allocated €1.7m of funding in April 2023 to support additional registration activities with a view to promoting local engagement and improving data quality. Local Authorities engaged with their communities in a wide variety of ways, including by using the materials provided by my Department.
