Committee Reports::Joint Committee on Interim, 2nd Interim, 3rd Interim and Final Reports - Electoral Law ::28 June, 1961::Proceedings of the Joint Committee

Deputy Healy (in the Chair), Deputies Booth Seán Browne, Cosgrave, Jones, Kitt, Loughman, McQuillan, Norton, O’Sullivan, Russell and Sweetman, Senators Cole, L’Estrange, Murphy, Ó Maoláin, O’Quigley and Ryan.

‘The Joint Committee reviewed the provisions of the Prevention of Electoral Abuses Act, 1923, dealing with corrupt and illegal practices at elections. A corrupt practice is generally regarded as a thing the mind goes with and an illegal practice as a thing the legislature is determined to prevent, whether it is done honestly or dishonestly. Corrupt practices are defined at sections 1 to 5 and section 36 of the Prevention of Electoral Abuses Act, 1923, as:—

(a) bribery,

(b) personation, or procuring or aiding in the commission of personation,

(d) undue influence,

(e) knowingly publishing before or during an election, a false statement of the withdrawal of a candidate at such election, and

*(f) knowingly making a false declaration of election expenses’.”

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

(a) for any of the practices except personation or procuring or aiding in the commission of personation—on summary conviction, imprisonment, with or without hard labour, for a term not exceeding one year;

(b) for personation or procuring or aiding in the commission of personation—

(i) on summary conviction, imprisonment, with or without hard labour, for a term of not less than 2 months in the case of a first offence, or, not less than 6 months for subsequent offences, subject in each case to a maximum term of 12 months’ imprisonment. A fine not exceeding £100 may also be imposed,

(ii) on conviction on indictment, for a second or subsequent offence, imprisonment, with or without hard labour, for not less than 6 months or more than 12 months, or penal servitude for 3 years; and in either case, a fine not exceeding £200 may be imposed;

(c) in addition to the foregoing penalties, any person convicted of a corrupt practice is incapable, during a period of 7 years after conviction, of

(i) being registered as a Dáil, Seanad or local government elector,

(ii) voting at Dáil, Seanad, or local government elections or at a referendum,

(iii) holding any judicial office, or

(iv) being a member of the Dáil, Seanad or of any local authority’.”

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

‘Further, under section 7, if an election court reports that a corrupt practice has been proved to have been committed at an election with a candidate’s knowledge and consent, the candidate, in addition to suffering the other penalties, is rendered permanently incapable of being a member of either House of the Oireachtas. If an election court reports that a corrupt practice has been proved to have been committed by a candidate’s agent, the candidate is rendered incapable for 7 years of being a member of either House of the Oireachtas. In addition, under section 38, a candidate or election agent is liable, on conviction on indictment for knowingly making a false return of election expenses, to the punishment for perjury’.”

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

*(a) excessive employment,

*(b) excessive payment,

(d) voting when disqualified,

(e) voting more than once,

(f) making false statements concerning a candidate,

(g) disorderly conduct at a public election meeting,

(h) failure by a candidate or the agent of a candidate to have the name of the printer and publisher on election bills, placards and posters,

*(i) the payment of expenses by unauthorized persons,

*(j) payment of expenses after the appointed time,

*(k) payment of late claims,

*(l) failure to make a return and declaration of expenses in proper form,

*(m) illegal payments,

*(n) illegal employment,

(o) illegal hiring’.”

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

(a) on summary conviction, a fine not exceeding £100 and, for 5 years from conviction, incapacity for being registered as a Dáil, Seanad or local government elector, or for voting at a Dáil or local government election or at a referendum;

(b) if an election court reports that an illegal practice has been proved to have been committed by, or with the knowledge or consent of any candidate, that candidate is rendered incapable, for 7 years from the date of the report, of being a member of the Oireachtas;

(c) if an election court reports that an illegal practice has been proved to have been committed by a candidate’s agent, the candidate is rendered incapable of being a member of the Dáil “during the continuance of that Oireachtas”, or of the Seanad “before the next (triennial) elections thereto” ’.”

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

‘If the Joint Committee’s recommendations in Part IV of its second interim report that the present limitations on the expenses which a candidate may incur or the number of persons he may employ at an election are implemented, the offences marked with an asterisk in paragraphs 81 and 84 will cease to be corrupt or illegal practices. The relevant statutes will require amendment accordingly’.”

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

‘The Joint Committee discussed sections 1 and 4 of the Prevention of Electoral Abuses Act, 1923, which deal with “treating” and felt that the sections, as drafted, are far too wide. The Committee considers that objectionable “treating” could be dealt with as bribery and it recommends accordingly the abolition of “treating” as a corrupt practice in itself’.”

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

‘The Joint Committee also recommends that making false statements concerning a candidate should cease to be an illegal practice. An offence of the type contemplated should be dealt with under the law of libel or defamation. If the penalty of disfranchisement for corrupt and illegal practices and under the Forfeiture Act, 1870, is removed, as the Committee recommends at paragraphs 90 and 112, the offence of voting when disqualified will cease to exist as an illegal practice. The necessary amendment in the relevant statutes should be made’.”

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

‘The Joint Committee also considers that section 19 and 20 of the Prevention of Electoral Abuses Act, 1923, which make it an offence (“illegal hiring”) to use as a committee room, at an election, restaurants, licensed premises, certain clubs and elementary schools, should be repealed. The Sections are of no relevance to present day conditions’.”

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

‘The Joint Committee feels further that, in general, corrupt and illegal practices should be treated in the same way as other offences and the provision for the secondary penalties of disfranchisement, disqualification from office, etc., should be abolished. The Committee recommends, therefore, the repeal of the provisions rendering persons convicted and candidates whose agents are convicted of corrupt or illegal practices incapable of being registered as electors and of voting at elections. The maximum period of imprisonment and the maximum amount of the fines should, however, be increased. The Committee also recommends the repeal of the specific disqualifications for membership of the Dáil and Seanad on account of corrupt and illegal practices and of the specific disqualification for 7 years for holding judicial office on account of a conviction of a corrupt practice’.”

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

‘Under rule 8 of the First Schedule to the Electoral Act, 1923 and section 43 of the Prevention of Electoral Abuses Act, 1923, every registration officer must publish and send to every other registration officer a list of persons in his area who are disqualified for voting through having been found guilty of corrupt and illegal practices. The circulation of this list helps to ensure that anyone disqualified for registration as an elector or for voting is in fact not registered and is prevented from voting. If the Joint Committee’s recommendation in paragraph 90 that the penalty of disfranchisement should no longer attach to corrupt or illegal practices is implemented the list will no longer be of any use and the Committee, therefore, recommends its abolition’.”

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

‘The Prevention of Electoral Abuses Act, 1923, largely consolidated the existing statutory provisions dealing with corrupt and illegal practices. Some of these provisions, however, still remain in earlier statutes, particularly the Corrupt and Illegal Practices Prevention Acts of 1854 and 1883. The Joint Committee recommends that the provisions in the earlier statutes should be incorporated in an up-to-date form in the legislation implementing its recommendations on the subject’.”

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

‘The Joint Committee has recommended in paragraph 90 that the provision disqualifying persons convicted of illegal practices for being registered as an elector or voting at Parliamentary or local elections be repealed and consequently does not consider this proposal necessary’.”

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

‘The proposal headed “Repeal of Electoral (Dáil Éireann and Local Authorities) Act, 1945” will not be necessary if the recommendation, at paragraph 13 of its second interim report, that the Minister for Local Government should have power to prescribe dates for registration purposes, is implemented’.”

IIMEACHTAÍ AN CHOMHCHOISTE

PROCEEDINGS OF THE JOINT COMMITTEE

Dé Céadaoin, 28Meitheamh, 1961.

Wednesday, 28th June, 1961.