Electoral (Amendment) Act, 1961
Acts of the Oireachtas
Source: Acts of the Oireachtas

num: 1
paragraphs: —In this Act—
“the Minister” means the Minister for Local Government ;
“the Principal Act” means the Electoral Act, 1923 .
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paragraphs: —DÃ¡il Ãireann shall, after the dissolution thereof which next occurs after the passing of this Act, consist of One Hundred and Forty-four members.
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paragraphs: —(1) The members of DÃ¡il Ãireann shall, after the dissolution of DÃ¡il Ãireann which next occurs after the passing of this Act, represent the constituencies specified in the Schedule to this Act.
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paragraphs: —A constituency specified in the Schedule to this Act shall return the number of members set out in respect thereof in the third column of that Schedule.
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paragraphs: —For the purposes of paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section 3 of the Electoral (Chairman of DÃ¡il Ãireann) Act, 1937 , the constituency of Clare specified in the Schedule to this Act is hereby declared to correspond to the constituency of Clare specified in the Schedule to the Electoral (Amendment) Act, 1947 .
num: 6
paragraphs: —(1) Where a registration unit or part of a registration unit is situate in a constituency specified in the Schedule to this Act which is identical in area and name with none of the constituencies existing at the passing of this Act, the Minister may by direction provide for the entry of the name of that constituency in the title page for the registration unit, or in the page or pages for the part of the registration unit, contained in every electors list, list of claimants, list of objections and register of electors which is prepared under the First Schedule to the Principal Act and issued by a registration officer after the passing of this Act, but before the 15th day of April, 1962.
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paragraphs: —(1) The returning officer for a constituency specified in the Schedule to this Act shall be—
(a) in case the whole of the constituency is situate in a county or county borough for which there is a sheriff—the sheriff,
(b) in case part of the constituency is situate in a county borough and part in a county and there is a sheriff for the county borough and a sheriff for the county—such one of the sheriffs as the Minister by order appoints from time to time,
(c) in any other case—the county registrar or, where part of the constituency has one county registrar and part another county registrar or parts other county registrars, such one of the county registrars as the Minister by order appoints from time to time.
(2) (a) Where a constituency consists of the whole of a county and part of another county, the returning officer may appoint the county registrar for the county in which that part is situate (and shall appoint him if he so requires) to be assistant returning officer for the part of the constituency in the other county.
(b) Where a constituency consists of the whole of a county and parts of two other counties, then, as respects the county registrar for each of the two other counties, the returning officer may appoint him (and shall appoint him if he so requires) to be assistant returning officer for the part of the constituency in the county for which he is county registrar.
(c) Where a constituency consists either of the whole of two counties or of the whole of two counties and a part of another county, the returning officer—
(i) may appoint the county registrar for the wholecounty forming part of the constituency which is not the county for which the returning officer is county registrar (and shall appoint him if he so requires) to be assistant returning officer for that part of the constituency, and
(ii) in case the constituency consists of the whole of two counties and a part of another county, may appoint the county registrar for the county of which a part forms part of the constituency (and shall appoint him if he so requires) to be assistant returning officer for that part of the constituency.
(d) (i) Where a constituency consists of parts of two counties, the returning officer may appoint the county registrar for the second county (and shall appoint him if he so requires) to be assistant returning officer for the part of the constituency in that county.
(ii) In the foregoing subparagraph “the second county” refers to such one of the relevant two counties as is not that for which the returning officer is the county registrar.
(e) Where a constituency consists of a part of a county and a part of a county borough, the returning officer may appoint the sheriff for the county borough (and shall appoint him if he so requires) to be assistant returning officer for the part of the constituency in the county borough.
(f) Where a constituency consists of the whole of a county borough and part of a county for which there is a sheriff, the returning officer may appoint the sheriff (and shall appoint him if he so requires) to be assistant returning officer for the part of the constituency in the county.
(3) An assistant returning officer shall perform, in the part of a constituency for which he was appointed, such of the duties of the returning officer for the constituency as that officer is not required by law to perform in person, but if any doubt arises as to the duties of an assistant returning officer, the doubt shall be determined by the Minister.
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paragraphs: —(1) Where a polling district existing at the passing of this Act under section 42 of the Principal Act is not wholly situate within one of the constituencies specified in the Schedule to this Act, the returning officer for each constituency so specified in which a part of the district is situate shall, as respects that part,—
(a) join it or parts of it with any adjoining polling district or districts, or
(b) constitute it as a polling district and appoint a polling place for it.
(2) An arrangement made pursuant to paragraph (a) or paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of this section shall—
(a) be subject to the sanction of the Minister,
(b) shall not have effect in relation to any bye-election occurring before the dissolution of DÃ¡il Ãireann which next occurs after the passing of this Act, and
(c) shall have effect until (and only until) the first division of the county or county borough in which the polling district is situate is made under section 42 of the Principal Act after the passing of this Act.
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paragraphs: —(1) The Electoral (Amendment) Act, 1947 , is hereby repealed.
(2) Subsection (1) of this section shall come into operation on the dissolution of DÃ¡il Ãireann which next occurs after the passing of this Act.
(3) The Electoral (Amendment) Act, 1959 , is hereby repealed.
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paragraphs: —(1) This Act may be cited as the Electoral (Amendment) Act, 1961.
(2) The Electoral Acts, 1923 to 1946, Part II of the Electoral Act, 1960 , and this Act shall be construed together as one Act and may be cited together as the Electoral Acts, 1923 to 1961.