Electoral Act, 1963

• Permanent Page URL

Franchise.

5.—(1) A person shall be entitled to be registered as a Dáil elector in a constituency if he has reached the age of twenty-one years and he was, on the qualifying date—

(a) a citizen of Ireland, and

(b) ordinarily resident in that constituency.

(2) (a) A person shall be entitled to be registered as a local government elector in a local electoral area if he has reached the age of twenty-one years and—

(i) he was, on the qualifying date, ordinarily resident in that area, or

(ii) he has, during the whole of the period of six months ending on the qualifying date, occupied, as owner or tenant, any land or premises in that area.

(b) For the purposes of this subsection—

(i) where two or more persons jointly occupy land or premises, each such person shall be treated as occupying the land or premises, subject to the proviso that not more than two persons shall be entitled to be registered in respect of the same land or premises, unless they are bona fide engaged as partners carrying on their profession, trade or business on the land or premises,

(ii) the occupation of a dwellinghouse shall be deemed not to be interrupted by reason only of permission being given by letting or otherwise for the occupation of the dwellinghouse as a furnished dwellinghouse by some other person for part or parts of the qualifying period not exceeding four months in the whole.

(c) Where, for the purpose of registration as a local government elector in a county, county borough, borough, urban district or town, a person has more than one property (that is to say, land or premises)—

(i) he may, not later than the last day for making claims for registration, nominate the one for which he wishes to be registered by giving notice to the registration authority, stating the addresses of the properties and the one for which he wishes to be registered, and he shall be registered accordingly;

(ii) where he does not so nominate and one of the properties is his residence situate in a county borough, borough, urban district or town, he shall be registered in respect of his residence;

(iii) in any other case, he shall be registered in respect of such one of the properties as the registration authority may decide.

(d) The registration authority shall make such alterations and corrections in the draft register as they think necessary—

(i) in order to secure that no person is registered more than once as a local government elector in a county borough, borough, urban district or town or in an administrative county exclusive of any borough, urban district or town therein, and

(ii) having regard to paragraph (c) of this subsection.

(e) In this subsection—

“local electoral area” means the area or any of the areas (as may be appropriate) by reference to which a local election is held;

“local government elector” means a person entitled to vote at a local election.

(3) (a) Where, not later than the last day for making claims for registration, an elector who is a whole time member of the Defence Forces furnishes a statement of the premises in which, but for his service, he would be ordinarily resident on the qualifying date to the registration authority for the registration area in which those premises are situate, the statement shall, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, be accepted as a correct statement and he shall be registered in respect of those premises.

(b) (i) In this subsection “a whole time member of the Defence Forces” means—

(I) a member of the Permanent Defence Force, or

(II) an officer of the Reserve Defence Force employed continuously on military service or duty during a period during which a proclamation authorising the calling out of reservists on permanent service is in force, or during a period during which reservists are called out on permanent service under section 88 of the Defence Act, 1954 , or

(III) a reservist called out on permanent service.

(ii) In the foregoing subparagraph “the Permanent Defence Force”, “officer”, “the Reserve Defence Force”, “proclamation authorising the calling out of reservists on permanent service” and “reservist” have the same meanings respectively as they have in the Defence Act, 1954 .

(4) For the purposes of this section—

(a) a person shall be deemed not to have given up ordinary residence if he intends to resume residence within eighteen months after giving it up,

(b) a written statement by a person that he intends to resume residence within eighteen months after giving it up shall, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, be conclusive evidence of that fact.

(5) Where—

(i) on the qualifying date, a person is a patient or inmate in any hospital, sanatorium, county home, home for persons suffering from physical or mental disability or similar institution or is detained in any premises in legal custody, and

(ii) in the case of a person who is such a patient or inmate, he is not—

(I) a person in employment in the hospital, sanatorium, county home, home for persons suffering from physical or mental disability or similar institution who is resident therein for the purposes of such employment, or

(II) a person who, in the opinion of the registration authority, will continue for an indefinite period to be such a patient or inmate,

he shall be deemed for the purposes of this section to be resident in the place where he would have been residing but for his having been such a patient or inmate or having been so detained in legal custody.

(6) (a) The qualifying date for every register of electors shall be such date as may be specified by regulations made by the Minister.

(b) For the purposes of this section, a person's age shall be taken to be that person's age on such date as may be specified by regulations made by the Minister.

(c) Where regulations specifying the date referred to in paragraph (a) or paragraph (b) of this subsection are proposed to be made, a draft thereof shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas and the regulations shall not be made until a resolution approving of the draft has been passed by each House.