REFERENDUM ACT 1994
Provisions as to agents.
26.—(1) A member of the Dáil for the constituency and any member of the Seanad may appoint agents to be present—
(a) at the issue of ballot papers to postal voters,
(b) at the opening of the postal ballot boxes, and
(c) at the counting of the votes.
(2) Subject to the provisions of subsection (3), the number of agents who may be appointed to be present on behalf of a member of the Dáil or the Seanad shall be fixed by the local returning officer, so, however, that the same number shall be allowed on behalf of every member.
(3) A member of the Dáil for the constituency and any member of the Seanad may appoint one person (in this Act referred to as “a personation agent”) to be present as his agent in each polling station for the purpose of assisting in the detection of personation, and such appointment shall be in writing.
(4) An appointment under this section may be revoked by the person by whom it was made.
(5) A member of the Dáil for the constituency and a member of the Seanad shall, not later than the time for the commencement of the issue of ballot papers to postal voters, give written notice to the local returning officer for the constituency of the name and address of every agent appointed by that member to be present at the said issue and the local returning officer may refuse to admit to the place where the ballot papers are to be issued any agent whose name and address have not been so notified.
(6) A member of the Dáil for the constituency and a member of the Seanad shall, not less than two days (disregarding any excluded day) before the polling day, give written notice to the local returning officer for the constituency concerned of the name and address of every personation agent appointed by that member together with the name of the polling station for which the personation agent is appointed. A personation agent appointed in accordance with this section and whose name and address have been duly notified to the local returning officer shall be entitled to be present in the polling station referred to in the notification during the period commencing 30 minutes before the time fixed by the Minister for the commencement of the poll and ending when the ballot boxes have been sealed by the presiding officer pursuant to section 110 of the Act of 1992 (as applied by section 32) and the documents and materials specified in that section have been placed in sealed packets.
(7) A member of the Dáil for the constituency and a member of the Seanad shall, not less than two days (disregarding any excluded day) before the polling day, give written notice to the local returning officer for the constituency concerned of the name and address of every agent appointed by that member to be present at the opening of the postal ballot boxes and the local returning officer may refuse to admit to the place where the postal ballot boxes are to be opened any agent whose name and address have not been so notified.
(8) A member of the Dáil for the constituency and a member of the Seanad shall not less than two days (disregarding any excluded day) before the polling day, give written notice to the local returning officer for the constituency concerned of the name and address of every agent appointed by that member to be present at the counting of the votes and the local returning officer may refuse to admit to the place where the votes are to be counted any agent whose name and address have not been so notified.
(9) Where the appointment of an agent under this section is revoked or an agent appointed under this section dies, resigns or becomes incapable of acting during a referendum, another person may be appointed under this section in place of such agent and, where such an appointment is made, the person making the appointment shall forthwith give written notice of the name and address of the agent appointed to the local returning officer for the constituency concerned.
(10) A member of the Dáil for the constituency and a member of the Seanad may lawfully do or assist in the doing of any thing which may lawfully be done on the member's behalf by an agent appointed under this section and may be present (in addition to, or in substitution for any such agent) at any place at which any such agent may, pursuant to this Act, be present.
(11) Any thing required by this Act to be done in the presence of an agent shall not be invalidated by reason only of the agent's not being present at the time and place appointed for doing such thing.
(12) Where the polling day at a constitutional referendum is also the polling day at a general election—
(a) the powers conferred by this section on a member of the Dáil shall be exercisable by any person who was a member of the Dáil for the constituency concerned immediately before the dissolution which occasioned such general election, and
(b) (i) every person appointed under section 60 of the Act of 1992 to be a personation agent for the purposes of such general election at a polling station shall be deemed to have been appointed under this section to be a personation agent at such polling station for the purposes of such referendum and the provisions of this Act shall apply to the person accordingly,
(ii) every person appointed under this section to be a personation agent for the purposes of the referendum at a polling station shall be deemed to have been appointed under section 60 of the Act of 1992 to be a personation agent at such polling station for the purposes of such general election and the provisions of the Act of 1992 shall apply to the person accordingly.
Annotations
Modifications (not altering text):
C15
Subss. (2), (4)-(9), (11), (12) applied with modifications (9.02.2023) by Electoral Reform Act 2022 (30/2022), s. 37(3), S.I. No. 32 of 2023.
Appointment by approved body of agents at a referendum
37....
(3) Subsections (2), (4) to (9), (11) and (12) of section 26 of the Act of 1994 shall apply to persons appointed to act as agents under this section as they apply to agents appointed under the said section 26 with the modification that references to a member of Dáil Éireann shall include references to an approved body and with any other necessary modifications.
C16
Prospective affecting provision: section applied with modifications by Electoral (Amendment) Act 2004 (15/2004), ss. 6(b), 7 and sch. 3 para. (j), not commenced as of date of revision.
Application of certain provisions of relevant enactments
6.—The provisions of— ...
(b) Parts I, II and IV of the Act of 1994,
...
shall, subject to the modifications specified in Schedule 1, 2, 3 or 4 to this Act, apply and have effect in relation to voting and vote counting under this Part at a relevant election or, as the case may be, a referendum.
Modification of relevant enactments in their application for purposes of Act
7.—Schedules 1 to 4 to this Act have effect for the purpose of modifying certain enactments in so far as those enactments apply for the purposes of this Act.
SCHEDULE 3
Modification of Certain Provisions of Act of 1994
For the purpose of the application by virtue of this Act to voting and the counting of votes at a referendum of certain provisions of the Act of 1994, the said provisions as so applied shall have effect as if— ...
(j) in section 26 of that Act—
(i) there were inserted “and at the entry of votes on postal voters ballot papers on a voting machine” after “boxes” in paragraph (b) of subsection (1);
(ii) for “ballot boxes have been sealed by the presiding officer pursuant to section 110 of the Act of 1992 (as applied by section 32)” in subsection (6), there were substituted “voting machines are closed down by the presiding officer pursuant to section 11 of the Electoral (Amendment) Act 2004”;
(iii) there were inserted “and the entry of votes on postal voters ballot papers on a voting machine” after “postal ballot boxes” where those words first occur in subsection (7) and there were inserted “and the votes on the postal voters ballot papers are entered on a voting machine” after “to be opened” in that subsection;
...
Editorial Notes:
E15
Previous affecting provision: subss. (2), (4) to (9), (11) and (12) applied with necessary modifications by Referendum Act, 1998 (1/1998), s. 11, repealed (09.02.2023) by Electoral Reform Act 2022 (30/2022), s. 4(4), S.I. No. 32 of 2023.