THE Government has taken formal advice on the timing of a general election, a constitutional referendum and a possible presidential election this year.
In a recent letter to the secretary to the Government, Mr Frank Murray, from the Department of the Environment, the Government has been advised that the present Dail must be dissolved not later than December 13th, 1997. The polling day for the next general election could, therefore, be as late as mid January, 1995.
It should be possible, the letter pointed out, to synchronise the making of a presidential election order and a Dail dissolution to allow the same date to be fixed for both polls between late October and late November.
If the Dail was dissolved before the end of September, the general election would have to be held separate from a presidential election unless unusually short periods were set aside for presidential nominations and the presidential campaign.
If a dissolution of the Dail were to take place after the polling day was appointed for the presidential election, the Minister for the Environment could, by order, arrange that the two polls would be held together. That day would have to be early enough, however, to allow the incoming President to take up office on December 3rd, 1997.
On a referendum, the letter advised that if a Bill to amend the Constitution was passed by both Houses of the Oireachtas at some stage this year, it would fall to the Minister, by order, to fix the polling day. It would be impossible to make the referendum polling day order and dissolve the Dail on the same day.
The Government was told, however, that if the Dail was dissolved after the Bill for a referendum had been passed by both Houses, a date could be set on dissolution to provide for both polls on the same day.
The advice sought by Mr Murray over Christmas would seem to indicate that the Government has no knowledge of whether the President, Mrs Robinson, will retire or seek an uncontested second term in office. It would also indicate that no preference for an election date was expressed by the Government to the Department of the Environment.
The advice also signals that the Government plans to hold a referendum to relax the rules on Cabinet confidentiality during the year.
Most observers in Leinster House currently believe that the general election will be held in the May/June period.
