Seanad electoral (panel members) act, 1954

• Enactment Date: 22 February 1954
• Act Number: 1

Number 1 of 1954.
SEANAD ELECTORAL (PANEL MEMBERS) ACT, 1954.
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
Section 1. Commencement. 2. Principal Act. 3. Amendment of section 12 of Principal Act. 4. Amendment of section 16 of Principal Act. 5. Amendment of section 17 of Principal Act. 6. Amendment of section 18 of Principal Act. 7. Amendment of section 26 of Principal Act. 8. Amendment of section 27 of Principal Act. 9. Amendment of section 28 of Principal Act. 10. Amendment of section 43 of Principal Act. 11. Amendment of Part V of Principal Act. 12. Amendment of Chapter III of Part V of Principal Act. 13. Further Amendment of Part V of Principal Act. 14. Repeals. 15. Minor and consequential amendments of Principal Act. 16. Short title and collective citation.
SCHEDULE.
Minor and Consequential Amendments of Principal Act.
Act Referred to Seanad Electoral (Panel Members) Act, 1947 No. 42 of 1947
Number 1 of 1954.
SEANAD ELECTORAL (PANEL MEMBERS) ACT, 1954.
AN ACT TO AMEND AND EXTEND THE SEANAD ELECTORAL (PANEL MEMBERS) ACT, 1947 . [22nd February, 1954.]
BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:—
	Commencement.	1.—This Act shall come into operation on such day as the Minister for Local Government appoints by order.
	Principal Act.	2.—In this Act “the Principal Act” means the Seanad Electoral (Panel Members) Act, 1947 (No. 42 of 1947).
	Amendment of section 12 of Principal Act.	3.—Section 12 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the insertion after subsection (3) of the following subsection:
	“(3a) The chairman of the appeal board shall preside at every meeting thereof and subsection (4) of this section shall accordingly not apply in relation to the chairman.”
	Amendment of section 16 of Principal Act.	4.—(1) Section 16 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution of the following subsections for subsections (3), (4) and (5):
	“(3) On the 15th day of February or, if that day is a Sunday, on the 16th day of February in every year the Seanad returning officer shall revise (in this Act referred to as an annual revision) the register of nominating bodies and for that purpose—
	(a) shall examine all applications for registration, deletion or amendment received by him during the period specified in subsection (2) of this section;
	(b) shall disallow every application which appears to him to be irregular in form;
	(c) shall disallow every application for registration which appears to him to be an application for a registration prohibited by this Act;
	(d) shall disallow every application for registration as respects which the applicant fails to satisfy him that the applicant is eligible for registration in respect of the panel to which the application relates;
	(e) shall disallow every application for registration made by a body which appears to him to be a branch of or affiliated or subsidiary to a body which is already registered in the register (not being a body whose registration he is deleting) or whose application for such registration he is allowing;
	(f) may disallow any application for registration where the registration is proper to be refused having regard to paragraph (d) of subsection (2) of section 8 of this Act;
	(g) may disallow any application for registration where the applicant fails or refuses to give any information required of the applicant under this section;
	(h) shall allow all such applications for registration as he does not disallow;
	(i) shall delete from the register the registration of every body which has duly applied for such deletion;
	(j) shall delete from the register the registration of every body which appears to him to have ceased to exist;
	(k) shall delete from the register the registration of every body which appears to him to have become a body whose registration is prohibited by this Act;
	(l) shall delete from the register the registration of every body which appears to him to have ceased to be eligible for registration;
	(m) shall delete from the register the registration of every body which appears to him to be a branch of or affiliated or subsidiary to a body whose application for registration he is allowing;
	(n) may make all such amendments in the register as appear to him by virtue of applications under this section or otherwise to be requisite or proper.
	(4) The Seanad returning officer may require, from any applicant under this section for registration or amendment, any information relevant to the application which the Seanad returning officer may reasonably consider necessary.
	(5) The Seanad returning officer may make such inquiries as he thinks proper for the purpose of any annual revision of the register of nominating bodies, but he shall not make any deletion or amendment without giving notice thereof to the body whose entry he proposes to delete or amend or without giving such body a reasonable opportunity of making representations in regard thereto unless the deletion or amendment is made by virtue of an application under this section.”
	(2) Section 16 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the addition thereto of the following subsections:
	“(7) Nothing in section 9 or section 11 of this Act shall apply in relation to any annual revision of the register of nominating bodies.
	(8) For the purposes of this and any subsequent section of this Act a body shall be regarded as affiliated to another body when the first-mentioned body is a member of or represented on the other body and the objects of the other body include the furtherance of the principal objects of the first-mentioned body.”
	Amendment of section 17 of Principal Act.	5.—(1) Section 17 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the insertion in subsection (1) after paragraph (a) of the following paragraph:
	“(aa) inform every body which is authorised by paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of this section to appeal against the allowance of an application for registration of his decision to allow such application, and”.
	(2) Section 17 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution for paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of the following paragraph:
	“(b) in the case of an allowance of an application by a body for registration in respect of any particular panel, any body which applied at the annual revision for registration in respect of the same panel and any nominating body which is registered in respect of the same panel,”
	(3) Section 17 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the insertion after subsection (4) of the following subsections:
	“(4a) In the case of an appeal referred to in paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of this section—
	(i) the appellant shall send a copy of the appeal by registered post to every body which appears to the Seanad returning officer to be a branch of or affiliated or subsidiary to it and which either is registered in the register of nominating bodies or has applied at the annual revision for registration therein and shall attach the certificate or certificates of posting to the appeal before it is delivered or sent by post to the Clerk of Dáil Éireann,
	(ii) any body to which a copy of the appeal is required by the foregoing paragraph to be sent may submit comments on the grounds of the appeal and such comments shall be made in writing and shall be delivered to or sent by post so as to reach the Clerk of Dáil Éireann not later than twelve o'clock noon on the 22nd day (being a week-day) or the 21st day (being a Saturday) of March in the year in which the decision appealed against was given, and any such comments which are received by the Clerk of Dáil Éireann after that hour on that day shall not be entertained or considered by the appeal board,
	and to facilitate compliance with this subsection, the Seanad returning officer shall, on the request of a body proposing to appeal against the disallowance of an application, furnish the body with a statement specifying every body which appears to him to be a branch of or affiliated or subsidiary to the body proposing to appeal and which is registered in the register of nominating bodies or has applied at the annual revision for registration therein.
	(4b) In the case of an appeal referred to in paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of this section—
	(i) the appellant shall send a copy of the appeal by registered post to the respondent, and shall attach the certificate of posting to the appeal before it is delivered or sent by post to the Clerk of Dáil Éireann,
	(ii) the respondent may submit comments on the grounds of the appeal and such comments shall be made in writing and shall be delivered to or sent by post so as to reach the Clerk of Dáil Éireann not later than twelve o'clock noon on the 22nd day (being a week-day) or the 21st day (being a Saturday) of March in the year in which the decision appealed against was given, and any such comments which are received by the Clerk of Dáil Éireann after that hour on that day shall not be entertained or considered by the appeal board.”
	Amendment of section 18 of Principal Act.	6.—Section 18 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the addition thereto of the following subsection:
	“(6) The decision of the appeal board on any appeal considered in pursuance of this section shall comprise—
	(a) if the decision reverses a decision disallowing an application by a body for registration, a direction to the Seanad returning officer for deletion from the register of any other specified registration which appears to the appeal board to be a registration of a body which is a branch of or affiliated or subsidiary to the first-mentioned body, and
	(b) if the decision reverses a decision allowing an application by a body for...