Minister Kelly establishes Referendum Commissions

Issued : Tuesday 27 January, 2015

Mr. Alan Kelly, T.D., Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, announced today that he has made orders under the Referendum Act 1998 establishing independent statutory Referendum Commissions for the purposes of the forthcoming referendums on the Thirty-Fourth Amendment of the Constitution (Marriage Equality) Bill 2015 and the Thirty-Fifth Amendment of the Constitution (Age of Eligibility for Election to the Office of President) Bill 2015. 

While the Referendum Commissions are established by separate orders under the Act, they will effectively operate as one.  In accordance with the 1998 Act, the Chief Justice has nominated the Hon. Mr. Justice Kevin Cross to act as Chairperson of both Commissions. 

The other members of the Commission are:

•          the Comptroller and Auditor General (Mr Seamus McCarthy),

•          the Ombudsman (Mr Peter Tyndall),

•          the Clerk Assistant of the Dáil (Mr Peter Finnegan), and

•          the Clerk of the Seanad (Ms Deirdre Lane).

The principal functions of the Commission are to prepare, publish and distribute to the electorate statements containing a general explanation of the subject matter of the referendum proposals, to promote awareness of the referendums and to encourage the electorate to vote.

The Commission will, in addition, consider and rule on applications from bodies or groups for declaration as approved bodies who may appoint agents at the referendums to be present at polling stations and at the counting of votes. 

 

 

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