Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 26 October 2022
85. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if there has been further correspondence or reasoned opinion issued by the European Commission on the Electoral Reform Act 2022; if so, the date that the correspondence was received; and the Commission's views expressed on the matters addressed in the correspondence. [53676/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe provisions in Parts 4 and 5 of the Electoral Reform Act 2022 were formally notified in draft form to the European Commission in accordance with the requirements of the notification procedure as set out in Directive (EU) 2015/1535 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 September 2015 laying down a procedure for the provision of information in the field of technical regulations and of rules on Information Society services (codification).
The notification procedure (known as Technical Regulation Information System or TRIS) aims to prevent the creation of barriers to trade in the internal market before they materialise. Under this notification procedure, a 90 day standstill period applies to the draft instrument following notification to the European Commission to allow for the consideration of any relevant observations/comments received from the Commission, Member States and other affected stakeholders.
Over the course of notification 2022/184/IRL, which concerned Part 4 of the Electoral Reform Act 2022, my Department received the following communications from the Commission:
- correspondence of 4 April 2022 to confirm that the standstill period would end on 5 July 2022;
- correspondence of 16 May 2022 requesting supplementary information on the notified draft;
- detailed opinion from the Commission of 5 July 2022 extending the standstill period to 5 August 2022. The detailed opinion is available online at ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/tris/en/search/?trisaction=search.detail&year=2022&num=184; and
- correspondence of 10 October 2022 inviting Ireland to further clarify the steps being taken to address the issues raised in the Commission’s detailed opinion.
In the case of notification 2022/376/IRL, which concerned Part 5 of the Electoral Reform Act 2022, my Department received the following communications from the Commission:
- correspondence of 30 May 2022 to confirm that the standstill period would end on 31 August 2022;
- correspondence of 12 July 2022 requesting supplementary information on the notified draft; and
- correspondence of 31 August 2022 outlining the Commission’s observations in respect of the notified draft. The observations invited Ireland to consider the provisions of Articles 3, 14 and 15 of Directive 2000/31/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (eCommerce Directive). These observations did not have the effect of extending the standstill period.
My Department is currently examining the latest correspondence received from the European Commission under notifications 2022/184/IRL and 2022/376/IRL and will engage further with the Commission with a view to resolving outstanding issues prior to the commencement of Parts 4 and 5 of the Electoral Reform Act 2022.
