Government approves setting up of Electoral Commission in administrative form

The new Electoral Commission is expected to be operational by the time the next scheduled elections take place in Ireland in 2024. The long-promised commission will carry out functions such as deciding electoral boundaries, providing full information on referendums, registering political parties, and the oversight of media and online political advertising.

Minister for Housing and Local Government Darragh O’Brien was given approval by the Government on Tuesday to set up the commission in administrative form. It is expected the commission will be in operation in advance of the local and European elections which are scheduled to take place in 2024.

Among its functions the new body will have responsibility for deciding the boundaries and size of each constituency and local election area. Based on preliminary Census data, the Government has decided the number of Dáil seats will be increased to between 169 and 179 for the next election because of a marked increase in population throughout the State.

The commission will only be in a position to determine the new boundaries and seat numbers when the final results of the latest Census are published and when it itself is in full operation.

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Mr O’Brien told Cabinet colleagues that setting up the commission in an administrative capacity would allow for the selection of the commission’s ordinary membership and its new chief executive, as well as the putting in place of transitional staffing arrangements, the securing of premises, the drawing up of governance procedures and the procurement of ICT infrastructure and software.

In addition to its regulatory and governance functions, the new commission will also have several new electoral functions including a research, advisory and public education role, the regulation of online political advertising during electoral periods, the maintenance of electoral integrity during electoral periods, the oversight of the Electoral Register and reporting on the administration of electoral events.