Committee Reports > List of Committees > Joint > 1961 > Committee on Electoral Law > Joint Committee on Interim, 2nd Interim, 3rd Interim and Final Reports - Electoral Law

IIMEACHTAÍ AN CHOMHCHOISTE

PROCEEDINGS OF THE JOINT COMMITTEE

Dé Céadaoin, 26 Aibreán, 1961.

Wednesday, 26th April, 1961.

1. The Joint Committee met at 5 p.m.

2. Members Present.

The following members were present:—

Deputy Healy (in the Chair), Deputies Seán Browne, Jones, Kitt, McQuillan and O’Sullivan, Senators Cole, L’Estrange, Murphy and Ó Maoláin.

3. Draft Final Report of Joint Committee.

The Chairman brought forward a draft Final Report for consideration.

(i) New paragraphs.

Amendment proposed (Senator Ó Maoláin):

“Before paragraph 1 to insert a new paragraph as follows:—

‘The Joint Committee has already submitted a first interim report (T.173, Pr. 5680), a second interim report (T.178, Pr. 5943) and a third interim report (T.179, Pr. 5991)’.”

Question:—“That the new paragraph be there inserted”—put, and agreed to.

Amendment proposed (Senator Ó Maoláin):

“Before paragraph 1 to insert a new paragraph as follows:—

‘The Joint Committee has now completed its consideration of the questions referred to it and has agreed to the following final report’.”

Question:—“That the new paragraph be there inserted”—put, and agreed to.

Amendment proposed (Senator Ó Maoláin):

“Before paragraph 1 to insert a new paragraph as follows:—

‘As was done in its first and second interim reports, the Joint Committee sets out, in italics and small print, the proposals and explanatory notes contained in the general scheme of an Electoral (Amendment) Bill submitted to it by the Minister for Local Government. Any of the Committee’s proposals which do not fall conveniently under the proposals in the general scheme are set out under separate headings’.”

Question:—“That the new paragraph be there inserted”—put, and agreed to.

(ii) Paragraph 1 deleted.

(iii) Paragraph 2 to 5, inclusive, agreed to.

(iv) New paragraph.

Amendment proposed (Deputy Jones)

“Before paragraph 6 to insert a new paragraph as follows:—

‘At present a person may be registered as a local government elector in any local government area in which he is on the qualifying date in occupation of property for at least six months or in which he is ordinarily resident. He may vote at the election of the members of the different local authorities in whose area he is registered but he may not vote more than once at the election of members of the one local authority. The Joint Committee considers that it would be a most retrograde step to depart from the principle of one man one vote for each local authority on which this franchise is based. A fortiori the Committee considers it undesirable that there should be a special election of commercial or “ratepayers” members. Accordingly the Committee recommends that no change be made in this respect in the property franchise for local elections’.”

Question:—“That the new paragraph be there inserted”—put, and agreed to.

(v) Paragraph 6 agreed to.

(vi) New paragraphs.

Amendment proposed (Senator Ó Maoláin):

“Before paragraph 7 to insert a new paragraph as follows:—

‘The house to house inquiry on which the register is based is done in most areas by rate collectors who are officers of local authorities. County secretaries and town clerks, who are also local authority officers, may be required to compile draft electors lists from information furnished by the rate collectors and otherwise. It is, however, not the local authorities but the county registrars who have the final responsibility for the publication of the register’.”

Question:—“That the new paragraph be there inserted”—put. and agreed to.

Amendment proposed (Senator Ó Maoláin):

“Before paragraph 7 to insert a new paragraph as follows:—

‘Further, local authorities are responsible for the making of polling schemes according to which the register must be made out, and the Minister for Local Government is the Minister responsible generally for local government administration and the registration of electors. He, however, has no function in regard to the appointment or conditions of service of county registrars, the staffing of their offices or their work generally which is largely concerned with Court business, and comes under the general jurisdiction of the Minister for Justice’.”

Question:—“That the new paragraph be there inserted”—put, and agreed to.

Amendment proposed (Senator Ó Maoláin):

“Before paragraph 7 to insert a new paragraph as follows:—

“The Joint Committee considers that this dissipation of responsibility is undesirable and that registration work could, with advantage, be brought within the ambit of the one class of authority subject to the one Minister. The Committee, accordingly, recommends that this work should be transferred to local authorities, whose members are elected by those registered in the register and can, therefore, be presumed to have a direct interest in its compilation. The Committee understands that there are no staff permanently employed in county registrars’ offices on registration work. The transfer should, therefore, not cause any difficulties in this regard. To safeguard the rights of electors, the Committee further recommends that county registrars should adjudicate on claims for and objections to the inclusion of names in the register. Subject to these recommendations, the Committee recommends this proposal’.”

Question:—“That the new paragraph be there inserted”—put, and agreed to.

4. Adjournment.

The Joint Committee adjourned at 6.20 p.m. until 5 p.m. on Wednesday next.