Referendum Act, 1994

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Citation: IR No. 12/1994

Number 12 of 1994
REFERENDUM ACT, 1994
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
PART I
General
Section 1. Short title, collective citation and commencement. 2. Interpretation. 3. Regulations. 4. Expenses. 5. Repeals. 6. Application of certain provisions of Part XXII of Act of 1992. 7. Secrecy. 8. Prohibition of disclosure of vote. 9. Publication of notices.
PART II
Taking a Referendum
10. The polling day at a constitutional referendum. 11. Power to appoint the same polling day for a general election and a constitutional referendum. 12. The polling day at an ordinary referendum. 13. Times of poll. 14. The referendum returning officer. 15. Local returning officers. 16. Expenses of local returning officers. 17. Statement by registration authorities of number of presidential electors. 18. Constituencies. 19. Polling districts and polling places. 20. Notice to local returning officers. 21. Notice of the taking of the referendum. 22. Copies of Bill to be made available at post offices. 23. Statement for the information of voters. 24. Ballot papers. 25. The official mark. 26. Provisions as to agents. 27. Officers not to act as agents. 28. Voting by postal voters. 29. Voting by special voters. 30. Polling on islands. 31. Authorisation to vote at another polling station. 32. Taking the poll at a referendum.
PART III
The Counting of the Votes
33. Arrangements in relation to the counting of votes. 34. Invalid ballot papers. 35. Counting of the votes. 36. Recount. 37. Report to the referendum returning officer. 38. Retention and disposal of documents. 39. Inspection of ballot papers etc. 40. The provisional referendum certificate. 41. Notification by Master of the High Court.
PART IV
Referendum Petitions
42. Referendum petitions. 43. Grounds for referendum petition. 44. Presentation of referendum petition. 45. Particulars in referendum petition. 46. Trial of referendum petition. 47. Counting of votes afresh. 48. Retaking referendum in a constituency. 49. Withdrawal of petition. 50. Substitution of new petitioner. 51. Death of or delay by a petitioner. 52. Witnesses. 53. Costs of referendum petition. 54. Further provisions regarding costs. 55. Statement of case to Supreme Court. 56. Service of documents. 57. The final order on referendum petition. 58. Provisions in respect of referenda having the same polling day.
FIRST SCHEDULE
Enactments Repealed
SECOND SCHEDULE
Forms of Ballot Paper
Number 12 of 1994
REFERENDUM ACT, 1994
AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR THE REFERENCE TO THE PEOPLE UNDER ARTICLE 47 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF BILLS CONTAINING PROPOSALS FOR THE AMENDMENT OF THE CONSTITUTION AND FOR THE REFERENCE TO THE PEOPLE UNDER ARTICLE 27 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF OTHER BILLS AND TO PROVIDE FOR MATTERS CONNECTED WITH THE MATTERS AFORESAID. [22nd May, 1994]
BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:
PART I General
	Short title, collective citation and commencement.	1.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Referendum Act, 1994.
	(2) Parts II and XXIII (insofar as they relate to referenda) of the Act of 1992 and this Act may be cited together as the Referendum Acts, 1992 and 1994.
	(3) This Act (other than this section) shall come into operation on such day or days as may be fixed therefor by order or orders of the Minister either generally or with reference to any particular purpose or provision and different days may be so fixed for different purposes and different provisions of this Act.
	Interpretation.	2.—(1) In this Act, except where the context otherwise requires—
	“the Act of 1992” means the Electoral Act, 1992 ;
	“a ballot paper” has the meaning assigned to it by section 24 ;
	“constituency” has the meaning assigned to it by section 18 ;
	“constitutional referendum” means a referendum on a proposal for the amendment of the Constitution;
	“Dáil” means Dáil Éireann;
	“Dáil election” means an election of a member or members to serve in the Dáil;
	“elector” means a presidential elector;
	“excluded day” means a day which is a Sunday, Good Friday or a day which is a public holiday within the meaning of the Holidays (Employees) Act, 1973 , or a day which by virtue of a statute or proclamation is a public holiday;
	“the local returning officer” has the meaning assigned to it by section 15 ;
	“the Minister” means the Minister for the Environment;
	“the official mark” has the meaning assigned to it by section 25 ;
	“ordinary referendum” means a referendum on a proposal other than a proposal for the amendment of the Constitution;
	“a personation agent” has the meaning assigned to it by section 26 ;
	“the polling day” has the meaning assigned to it in Part II ;
	“a postal voter” means a presidential elector whose name is entered in the postal voters list;
	“the postal voters list” means the list prepared pursuant to section 14 of the Act of 1992 insofar as it relates to presidential electors;
	“prescribed”, except in section 23 , means prescribed by the Minister by regulations;
	“presidential elector” means a person entitled to vote at an election of a person to the office of President of Ireland;
	“referendum” includes a constitutional referendum and an ordinary referendum;
	“a referendum petition” has the meaning assigned to it by section 42 ;
	“the referendum returning officer” has the meaning assigned to it by section 14 ;
	“the register of electors” means the register of presidential electors;
	“the register of presidential electors” has the meaning assigned to it by section 13 of the Act of 1992;
	“Seanad” means Seanad Éireann;
	“a special voter” means a presidential elector whose name is entered in the special voters list;
	“the special voters list” means the list prepared pursuant to section 17 of the Act of 1992 insofar as it relates to presidential electors.
	(2) In this Act—
	(a) a reference to a Part or section is to a Part or section of this Act, unless it is indicated that reference to some other enactment is intended;
	(b) a reference to a subsection, paragraph or subparagraph is to the subsection, paragraph or subparagraph of the provision in which the reference occurs, unless it is indicated that reference to some other provision is intended;
	(c) a reference to any enactment shall be construed as a reference to that enactment as amended, adapted or extended by or under any subsequent enactment including this Act.
	(3) For the purpose of the application by virtue of this Act to referenda of certain provisions of the Act of 1992, the said provisions as so applied shall have effect as if—
	(a) a reference in that Act to a Dáil elector or an elector was a reference to a presidential elector;
	(b) a reference in that Act to a Dáil election or an election was a reference to a referendum;
	(c) a reference in that Act to the register of Dáil electors or the register of electors was a reference to the register of presidential electors;
	(d) a reference in that Act to a returning officer was a reference to a local returning officer;
	(e) a reference in that Act to the Act of 1992 was a reference to this Act, including the provisions of that Act applied to referenda by this Act;
	(f) the reference in section 67 of the said Act to section 60 thereof was a reference to section 26 and “of the candidates” was deleted;
	(g) the references in section 68 of the said Act to “each candidate” were references to each member of the Dáil for the constituency and each member of the Seanad resident in the constituency concerned and “if the election is contested” was deleted;
	(h) the references in section 73 of the said Act to “each candidate” were references to each member of the Dáil for the constituency and each member of the Seanad resident in the constituency concerned;
	(i) in section 74 of the said Act “an agent” was substituted for “the agent of a candidate”;
	(j) in section 76 of the said Act the reference to section 129 thereof was a reference to section 38 , the references in the said section 76 to the Clerk of the Dáil were references to the referendum returning officer and “of the candidates” was deleted;
	(k) in section 81 of the said Act “he receives from the referendum returning officer a copy of the Minister's order appointing the polling day at the referendum” was substituted for “the adjournment of the Dáil election for the purpose of taking a poll”;
	(l) in section 85 of the said Act the reference to “the notice of poll under section 87” was a reference to the notice of the taking of the referendum under section 21 ;
	(m) in section 95 of the said Act “a member of the Dáil for the constituency and any member of the Seanad” was substituted for “a person in respect of whom he is satisfied that that person has a bona fide interest in the Dáil election as either a candidate or a prospective candidate, or the agent of such a person”;
	(n) in section 98 of the said Act the following was substituted for paragraph (c)—
	“(c) a member of the Dáil for the constituency and any member of the Seanad,”;
	and “by or on behalf of the candidates” in paragraph (d) was deleted;
	(o) in section 101 of the said Act the reference to sections 38 and 64 thereof was a reference to section 28 and the reference to section 79 thereof was a reference to ...