No timeframe for increasing postal voting access in Ireland

Minister for Housing Darragh O'Brien is said to be broadly supportive of measures to open up postal voting. Picture: Niall Carson/PA

An expansion of postal voting will have to wait until after the electoral commission is established.

Housing Minister Darragh O'Brien, who has responsibility for voting and elections, told Sinn Féin's Pa Daly in a parliamentary question the idea will be explored by the electoral commission, when it is formed.

Postal voting was key in America's presidential election but in Ireland, the practice is much more limited. It extends only to:

• Irish diplomats serving abroad and their spouses/civil partners
• Whole-time members of the Defence Forces
• Gardaí
• Those living at home who are unable to vote because of a physical illness or a physical disability
• Certain election staff employed at the poll outside the constituency where they reside
• Full-time students registered at their home who are away for college
• Prisoners
• People who are likely to be abroad for work.

Mr O'Brien said that while the programme for government commits to examining and expanding postal voting, this cannot be done until the electoral commission has been formed and carried out its work.

Mr O'Brien last month brought a memo to Cabinet to draft the general scheme of an Electoral Reform Bill, which will provide for the commission, as well as modernising electoral rolls and amendments to allow for holding of an election in a situation like the pandemic.

It is understood that he is personally broadly supportive of measures to open up postal voting.

Mr Daly said that postal voting must be expanded to align with the practice in Northern Ireland.

"The pandemic is clearly going to be with us a while, and the likelihood is that we will have an election or a referendum at some point during it," said Mr Daly.

"Kerry has the second oldest population in the State and many isolated and high-risk voters and they will be concerned about the implications of travelling to vote.

"The electoral commission has been promised a long time, and tasking it with solving this problem is a kick for touch by the government."