{"id":4681,"date":"2023-05-10T16:25:54","date_gmt":"2023-05-10T15:25:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.electoralcommission.ie\/ceisteanna-coitianta\/"},"modified":"2023-05-18T11:25:56","modified_gmt":"2023-05-18T10:25:56","slug":"ceisteanna-coitianta","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.electoralcommission.ie\/ga\/ceisteanna-coitianta\/","title":{"rendered":"Ceisteanna Coitianta"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

F\u00e9ach tr\u00edn\u00e1r gceisteanna agus freagra\u00ed is coitianta le haghaidh faisn\u00e9ise ar \u00e1r gcuid oibre agus ar Reifrinn.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\tWho can vote in a referendum?<\/strong><\/span><\/div>

\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 You must be an Irish citizen
\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 You must be at least 18 years old
\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Your name must be on the Register of Electors
\u00a0
If you are an Irish citizen living abroad you cannot be entered on the Register of Electors. This means that you cannot vote in an election or referendum here in Ireland. The only exception to this is Irish diplomats and their spouses, who are on duty abroad and may cast their vote by post.<\/p><\/div><\/div>

\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\tWhat is the role of the Electoral Commission in a referendum?<\/strong><\/span><\/div>

An Coimisi\u00fan Toghch\u00e1in is a statutory, independent body, established on 9 February 2023 with responsibility for a broad range of electoral functions set out in the\u00a0Electoral Reform Act 2022. An Coimisi\u00fan is central to Ireland\u2019s electoral system, carrying out a range of existing electoral functions.
\u00a0
In relation to Ireland\u2019s Referendums, since February 2023 we have taken over the functions of the Referendum Commission.
\u00a0
This means we have the job to:
a)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 prepare a statement or statements containing a general explanation of the subject matter of the proposal for the referendum concerned
\u00a0
b)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 prepare a statement or statements containing a general explanation of the subject matter of the proposal for the referendum concerned
\u00a0
c)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 publish (in both the Irish and English languages) and distribute statements as appropriate across TV, radio, and other electronic media for the attention of the electorate and to ensure as far as practicable that those with a sight or hearing disability can read or hear the statements concerned;
\u00a0
d)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 to promote public awareness of the referendum and encourage the public to vote at the referendum<\/p><\/div><\/div>

\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\tDoes the Electoral Commission provide the arguments for and against the referendum?<\/strong><\/span><\/div>

The Commission does not advocate or promote a particular result at a referendum and it\u2019s not our role to outline the arguments for and against referendum proposals.
\u00a0
The Commission may however at our discretion clarify and provide appropriate information about areas we consider to be of significant public concern and importance.<\/p><\/div><\/div>

\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\tWho are the people in the Electoral Commission?<\/strong><\/span><\/div>

The Commission is made up of 7 members. The chairperson is Supreme Court Justice Marie Baker, who was nominated by the Chief Justice.
\u00a0
There are four ordinary members of the Commission who were appointed following an open competition run by the Public Appointments Service. They are:
Alex Atwood
John Curran
Professor Caroline Fennell
Maura Quinn
\u00a0
There are also two ex-officio members:
Ger Deering, Ombudsman.
Peter Finnegan, Clerk of the D\u00e1il.
\u00a0
They are supported in their work by an Executive which is headed by CEO Art O\u2019Leary.<\/p><\/div><\/div>

\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\tWho funds the Electoral Commission?<\/strong><\/span><\/div>

An Coimisi\u00fan Toghch\u00e1in, the Electoral Commission is an independent public body so we are not under any Government Department or Minister. We are publicly funded through our own independent Vote (Vote 23) and are directly accountable to the Oireachtas with our CEO as our Accounting Officer.<\/p><\/div><\/div>

\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\tReferendums or referenda?<\/strong><\/span><\/div>

Every time there\u2019s a referendum the question comes up –\u00a0 is \u2018referendums\u2019 or \u2018referenda\u2019 the plural for referendum?
\u00a0
Either form of the plural is acceptable according to The New Oxford Dictionary for Writers and Editors (2014).
\u00a0
As the Electoral Commission we prefer to use \u2018referendums\u2019 as per the Cambridge English Dictionary entry, which says:
\u00a0
Referendum \u2013 noun plural\u00a0referendums\u00a0or\u00a0formal\u00a0referenda\u00a0UK\/\u02ccref.\u0259\u02c8ren.d\u0259\/\u00a0US\/\u02ccref.\u0259\u02c8ren.d\u0259\/\u00a0(formal\u00a0plebiscite) – a\u00a0vote\u00a0in which all the\u00a0people\u00a0in a\u00a0country\u00a0or an\u00a0area\u00a0are\u00a0asked\u00a0to give\u00a0their\u00a0opinion\u00a0about or\u00a0decide\u00a0an\u00a0important\u00a0political\u00a0or\u00a0social\u00a0question.<\/p><\/div><\/div>

\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\tWhat are ‘approved bodies’?<\/strong><\/span><\/div>

An approved body may have representatives present when postal ballot papers are being sent out and opened, at polling stations and at the counting of the vote. Applications to become an approved body must be sent to the Electoral Commission.

Applicants must have:
\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 at least 300 members
\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 an interest in the referendum
\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 and a name that does not closely resemble the name of a political party registered in the Register of Political Parties
\u00a0
An Coimisi\u00fan Toghch\u00e1in will advertise in the national media and on our own website and social media when it is time for those interested in becoming approved bodies for the upcoming referendum to come forward and apply in writing ahead of a specific deadline.<\/p><\/div><\/div>

\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\tWhat are the rules on postering at referendums?<\/strong><\/span><\/div>

The Electoral Commission has no role in relation to posters erected during a referendum.
\u00a0
There are rules governing posters and leaflets, and other forms of advertising during an election campaign. Local authorities have powers to remove posters where it is in the public interest to do so.<\/p><\/div><\/div>

\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\tDoes the Electoral Commission make a report after each referendum?<\/strong><\/span><\/div>

Yes \u2013 we have a role, soon after the completion our referendum functions, and no later than 6 months after, to prepare and submit our written report to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on the referendum. \u00a0<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

F\u00e9ach tr\u00edn\u00e1r gceisteanna agus freagra\u00ed is coitianta le haghaidh faisn\u00e9ise ar \u00e1r gcuid oibre agus ar Reifrinn.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-4681","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nCeisteanna Coitianta - Coimisi\u00fan Toghch\u00e1in<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.electoralcommission.ie\/ga\/ceisteanna-coitianta\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"ga_IE\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ceisteanna Coitianta - 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