Local Government Act 2019

29

Polling districts and polling places

29. (1) The city council shall, as respects any polling district that is situated partly inside and partly outside the relevant area—

(a) join such part of it as is situated in the relevant area to a polling district in the administrative area of the city council that adjoins the said part,

(b) join different parts of the part referred to in paragraph (a) to different polling districts in the administrative area of the city council, provided that each such different part adjoins the polling district to which it is joined, or

(c) constitute the part referred to in paragraph (a) as a polling district and appoint a polling place in respect of it,

in this section referred to as an “interim polling district arrangement”.

(2) An interim polling district arrangement shall cease to have effect upon the coming into operation of the first scheme under section 28 of the Act of 1992 made by the city council after the commencement of this section.

(3) The county council shall, as respects any polling district that is situated partly inside and partly outside the relevant area—

(a) join such part of it as is situated outside the relevant area to a polling district in the administrative area (other than the relevant area) of the county council that adjoins the said part,

(b) join different parts of the part referred to in paragraph (a) to different polling districts in the administrative area (other than the relevant area) of the county council, provided that each such different part adjoins the polling district to which it is joined, or

(c) constitute the part referred to in paragraph (a) as a polling district and appoint a polling place in respect of it,

in this section also referred to as an “interim polling district arrangement”.

(4) An interim polling district arrangement shall cease to have effect upon the coming into operation of the first scheme under section 28 of the Act of 1992 made by the county council after the commencement of this section.

Annotations

Modifications (not altering text):

C4

Application of section extended by Referendum Act 1994 (12/1994), ss. 15, 18 as applied with modifications (15.05.2019) by Electoral Act, 1992 (Section 165) Regulations 2019 (S.I. No. 214 of 2024), reg. 24.

Local returning officers.

15.— ...

(3) It shall be the duty of the local returning officer for a constituency to take the poll at the referendum in the constituency and to count the votes cast thereat and to do such acts and things as may be necessary for effectually taking the poll and counting the votes in the constituency in accordance with this Act.

...

Constituencies.

18.—(1) For the purpose of taking the poll at a referendum, the State shall be deemed to be divided into the same constituencies as those into which it is for the time being divided for the purpose of Dáil elections and the poll shall be taken separately in each such constituency.

(2) The Minister may, if satisfied that it is appropriate so to do, by order, made not later than the date on which the order appointing the polling day at a referendum is made, provide that for the purpose of the referendum concerned each county and each county borough shall be deemed to be a constituency for the purpose of Dáil elections and, as respects a referendum for the purpose of which the order is in force—

(a) the poll shall be taken separately in each county and each county borough;

(b) each voter at the poll shall vote in the constituency in which the voter would be entitled to vote at a Dáil election if each county and each county borough in the State were a constituency for such election;

(c) the local returning officer shall be—

(i) in the case of the county of Cork, the counties of South Dublin, Fingal and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, the county borough of Cork and the county borough of Dublin, the appropriate sheriff, and

(ii) in any other case, the county registrar for the county or county borough concerned; and

(d) in this Act (other than this subsection)—

(i) references to a constituency shall be construed in accordance with the order, and

(ii) references to a member of the Dáil for the constituency shall be construed as references to a member of the Dáil for any constituency situate wholly or partly within the county or county borough and references to a member of the Seanad resident in the constituency shall be construed as references to a member of the Seanad resident in the county or county borough.

(3) An order under this section shall be published in Iris Oifigiúil as soon as may be after it is made.

...

Modification of Act of 1994.

24. The Act of 1994 shall have effect as if:

(a) in section 15(3) “and the Electoral Act 1992 (Section 165) Regulations 2019” were inserted after “with this Act”,

(b) in section 18 by the insertion of the following after subsection (3):

“(4) Sections 28 and 29 of the Local Government Act 2019 shall apply for the purposes of the holding of a referendum on 24 May 2019 as they apply for the purposes of the holding of local elections on the same date, subject to the following modifications in section 28-

(i) by the substitution of ’Presidential’ for ‘local government’ in paragraph (b) of subsection (1),

(ii) by the substitution of ‘Presidential’ for ‘local government’ in subsection (2), and

(iii) by the substitution of ‘this Act’ for ‘Part 4 of the Principal Act’ in subsection (3).”.

C5

Application of section extended by European Parliament Elections Act 1997 (2/1997), s. 15(3), (4) as amended and inserted (22.03.2019) by European Parliament Elections (Amendment) Act 2019 (7/2019), s. 5, S.I. No. 117 of 2019.

Constituencies

15.—(1) The constituencies for which candidates shall be elected under this Act to be representatives in the Parliament shall be those specified in the Third Schedule and the number of representatives to be so elected for such a constituency shall be the number specified in respect thereof in the third column of that Schedule.

(2) The Minister shall, having considered any report presented on statutory authority to each House of the Oireachtas recommending any alteration in the constituencies for which candidates shall be elected under this Act to be representatives in the Parliament, and not later than the first day of December, 2003 and at least once in every ten years thereafter, submit to the Oireachtas proposals for a review of the said constituencies.

[(3) Subject to subsection (4), an area specified in the Third Schedule shall be taken to be that area as constituted on 1 September 2018.]

[(4) Sections 28 and 29 of the Local Government Act 2019 shall apply for the purposes of the holding of European elections in the year 2019 as they apply for the purposes of the holding of local elections in that year, subject to the following modifications in section 28—

(a) by the substitution of "European" for "local government" in paragraph (b) of subsection (1),

(b) by the substitution of "European" for "local government" in subsection (2), and

(c) by the substitution of "this Act" for "Part 4 of the Principal Act" in subsection (3).]