15 Aib 2014, 15:13
Officials from the Department of the Environment are before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions to discuss the factors underlying the design and wording of ballot papers in elections and referendums.
15 April 2014
The meeting follows research from the Referendum Commission on relating to the recent referendums on the abolition of the Seanad and the Court of Appeal in October last year. The research found that 55 percent of respondents said it was quite difficult or very difficult to tell from the Seanad Referendum ballot paper what they were being asked to vote for, and 47 percent said this was the case in relation to the Court of Appeal Referendum ballot paper.
Chairman of the Committee Pádraig Mac Lochlainn TD says: “Research by the referendum Commission has indicated that there was considerable public confusion around the ballot paper in the recent referendums held last October. While this research indicates that the proposal to abolish the Seanad would still have been rejected, margin of rejection would have been slightly greater.
“The potential impact of this confusion on the democratic process is a source of concern to our Committee. Tomorrow, we will have an opportunity to engage with Officials from the Department of the Environment on the rationale for the design, text and language of these ballot papers, and what lessons can be learned from the Referendum Commission findings.”
The meeting takes place tomorrow Wednesday 16 April in Committee Room 3, LH 2000 at 4 pm. Public proceedings can be viewed online here.
Committee proceedings can also be viewed on the move, through the Houses of the Oireachtas Smartphone App, available for Apple and Android devices.
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Committee Membership
Deputies:
Richard Boyd-Barrett, Independent
Charles Flanagan, Fine Gael
Noel Harrington, Fine Gael
Michael Healy-Rae, Independent
Seamus Kirk, Fianna Fáil
Michael P. Kitt, Fianna Fáil
Pádraig MacLochlainn (Chairman), Sinn Fein
Helen McEntee, Fine Gael
Michelle Mulherin, Fine Gael
Derek Nolan (Vice-Chair), Labour
Patrick O'Donovan, Fine Gael
Aengus Ó Snodaigh, Sinn Féin
Sean Kenny, Labour
John Halligan, Independent
Jack Wall, Labour
Senators:
Trevor Ó Clochartaigh, Sinn Féin
Jimmy Harte, Labour
Tony Mulcahy, Fine Gael
Susan O’Keeffe, Labour
Ned O'Sullivan, Fianna Fáil