European Parliament Elections (Amendment) Act 2019

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Citation: IR No. 7/2019

Number 7 of 2019
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT ELECTIONS (AMENDMENT) ACT 2019
CONTENTS
1. Definition
2. Amendment of section 6 of Principal Act
3. Amendment of section 10 of Principal Act
4. Amendment of section 11 of Principal Act
5. Amendment of section 15 of Principal Act
6. Amendment of Second Schedule to Principal Act
7. Substitution of Third Schedule to Principal Act
8. Amendment of section 25 of Electoral Act 1992
9. Short title, collective citations, construction and commencement
Acts Referred to
Electoral Act 1992 (No. 23)
Electoral Acts 1992 to 2018
European Parliament Elections Act 1997 (No. 2)
European Parliament Elections Acts 1992 to 2014
Local Government Act 2019 (No. 1)
Number 7 of 2019
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT ELECTIONS (AMENDMENT) ACT 2019
An Act to give effect to European Council Decision (EU) 2018/937 of 28 June 20181 establishing the composition of the European Parliament and Council Decision (EU, Euratom) 2018/994 of 13 July 20182 amending the Act concerning the election of the members of the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage, annexed to Council Decision 76/787/ECSC, EEC, Euratom of 20 September 1976 and, for that purpose, to revise the European Parliament constituencies; to provide for the number of members to be elected for such constituencies; to amend the European Parliament Elections Act 1997; to amend the Electoral Act 1992; and to provide for related matters.
[12th March, 2019]
Be it enacted by the Oireachtas as follows:
		Definition
1. In this Act “Principal Act” means the European Parliament Elections Act 1997 .
		Amendment of section 6 of Principal Act
2. Section 6 of the Principal Act is amended by the deletion of “or the United Kingdom” in each place that it occurs.
		Amendment of section 10 of Principal Act
3. Section 10 of the Principal Act is amended, in paragraph (a) of subsection (1), by the substitution of “sixty days” for “fifty days”.
		Amendment of section 11 of Principal Act
4. Section 11 of the Principal Act is amended—
	(a) in paragraph (d) of subsection (2), by the deletion of “or the United Kingdom”,
	(b) in subsection (3), by the deletion of “or the United Kingdom”,
	(c) by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (4):
	“(4) (a) A person who is elected under this Act to be a representative in the Parliament, and who when so elected, holds office as—
	(i) the Attorney General,
	(ii) the Chairman or Deputy Chairman of the Dáil or the Chairman or Deputy Chairman of the Seanad, or
	(iii) a Minister of State,
	shall, on such election and no later than taking up his or her seat in the Parliament, on the date specified by the Parliament for the taking up of such seats, cease to hold that office.
	(b) A person who pursuant to section 19 of this Act is to be regarded as having been elected to be a representative in the Parliament or when he or she commences to be so regarded holds office as—
	(i) the Attorney General,
	(ii) the Chairman or Deputy Chairman of the Dáil or the Chairman or Deputy Chairman of the Seanad, or
	(iii) a Minister of State,
	shall on being regarded as having being so elected, on the day on which he or she commences to be so regarded, and no later than taking up his or her seat in the Parliament, on the date specified by the Parliament for the taking up of such seats, cease to hold that office.”,
	and
	(d) in subsection 4A—
	(i) by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (a):
	“(a) A person who is elected under this Act to be a representative in the Parliament, and who, when so elected, is a member of either House of the Oireachtas, shall on such election and no later than taking up his or her seat in the Parliament, on the date specified by the Parliament for the taking up of such seats, cease to be a member of the House of the Oireachtas concerned.”,
	and
	(ii) by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (b):
	“(b) A person who pursuant to section 19 of this Act is to be regarded as having been elected to be a representative in the Parliament or when he or she commences to be so regarded, and no later than taking up his or her seat in the Parliament, on the date specified by the Parliament for the taking up of such seats, shall cease to be a member of the House of the Oireachtas concerned.”.
		Amendment of section 15 of Principal Act
5. Section 15 of the Principal Act is amended—
	(a) by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (3):
	“(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.”,
	and
	(b) by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (3):
	“(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).”.
		Amendment of Second Schedule to Principal Act
6. The Second Schedule to the Principal Act is amended—
	(a) in rule 2, by the substitution of “the forty-fifth day” for “the thirty-fifth day”,
	(b) in rule 5—
	(i) by the substitution of the following subparagraph for subparagraph (c) of paragraph (1):
	“(c) a form of statement indicating whether the candidate is—
	(i) a citizen of Ireland, or
	(ii) a national of a Member State, other than the State,
	and”,
	(ii) by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (3):
	“(3) (a) A candidate may include in the nomination paper the name of the registered political party of which he or she is a candidate or the name of such political party together with the name of any political group or European political party noted on the Register of Political Parties in relation to that political party, provided that, at the time the nomination paper is delivered to the returning officer, a certificate in the form directed by the Minister (in this Schedule referred to as a ‘certificate of political affiliation’) authenticating the candidature is produced to the returning officer, being a certificate signed by the officer or officers of such party whose name or names appear in the said Register pursuant to section 25(7)(d) of the Act of 1992. Where such a certificate is produced, the returning officer, provided he or she is satisfied that it is appropriate to do so in relation to the candidate, shall cause—
	(i) a statement of the name of the relevant political party and a copy of the political party’s emblem as registered in the said Register to be specified in relation to the candidate on all the ballot papers, and
	(ii) a statement of the name of the relevant political party to be specified in relation to the candidate on notices.
	(b) Where a candidate includes in the nomination paper a statement of the name of a political group or a European political party in addition to the name of a political party, the returning officer, provided he or she is satisfied that it is appropriate to do so in relation to the candidate, shall cause a statement of the name of such political group or such European political party in addition to the name of such party to be specified on all such ballot papers and notices.”,
	and
	(iii) by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (5):
	“(5) A person to whom paragraph (4) applies may include in the nomination paper the name of any—
	(a) political group formed in accordance with the rules of procedure of the European Parliament, or
	(b) European political party established in accordance with Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1141/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 October 2014...