Borderwise Booklets
Issue 1
10TH January 2007
Going South – Citizenship
©
NIACAB (Northern Ireland Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux) 2008
This booklet
provides general advice and information for people who are currently living in Northern Ireland but want to move to the Republic of Ireland. It includes details of what elections
take place in Ireland along with information on voting procedures and the rules
relating to Irish citizenship.
S7 Going South – Citizenship
This leaflet is for you if you live in the
North and you want to go South to live. It tells you about your rights to vote
and to be elected to public office in the South. It also tells you about how
you can become a citizen of Ireland. The information here is mainly relevant
for people who are citizens of EU member states and is particularly relevant
for Irish or UK citizens. The information given here is general. You may get
further information from the addresses and websites given. You may need legal
advice to clarify your right to citizenship or to change your citizenship.
The information in this leaflet was
compiled in November 2007.
Voting
You are entitled
to vote in elections in the South if you meet the following conditions and if
your name is on the electoral register:
- You are aged 18
or over
- You are
entitled to vote in the particular election
- You are living
in the South
Particular
elections
You are entitled
to vote in elections in the South as follows:
Irish
citizens may vote in
all elections - general elections (elections to the Dáil), local elections,
European Parliament elections, Presidential elections and referendums.
British
citizens may vote in
general elections, local elections and European Parliament elections.
Citizens of
all EU member states
may vote in local and European Parliament elections. Non-EU citizens
may vote in local elections.
The electoral
register
The local
authorities are responsible for compiling the Register of Electors.
The register is
compiled each year. You may get on the register if you are living in the South
on a September before the Register comes into effect. The local authority may
send application forms to your house or you may get the forms from them or
on-line. The draft register is published on 1 November and you have until 25
November to make a correction or have your name included on the Register. The
amended Register of Electors is then published in February of the following
year and it comes into effect on 15 February. The draft Register and the final
Register are available for inspection in local authority offices, post offices,
Garda stations and public libraries.
Supplement
to the Register
If you are
qualified to vote but have missed the deadline to include your name on the
Register, you may apply to be included in a Supplement to the Register. If you
reach 18 after 15 February but before an election day, you may apply to get on
the Supplement. You must apply for inclusion on the Supplemental Register at
least 15 working days before an election.
Postal Voting
You normally vote
in person at your local polling station. There is no general right to a postal
vote but certain groups may get one. They are
- members of the
Defence Forces and the Gardai and
- people who are
unable to go to the polling station because of a physical illness or
disability and
- people who may
be away from home for work reasons or because they are students. Students
may register at their home or college address.
You must apply
for a postal vote by 25 November.
Special Voters
List
If you live in a
hospital, nursing home or similar long stay care facility you may be on the Special
Voters List. This allows you to vote at these locations. You must apply to be
on this list by 25 November.
Voters with disabilities
There are
arrangements in place to help people with disabilities to actually exercise
their right to vote. These arrangements are for people who have a physical
disability or a reading or writing disability.
You may be able
to vote at a different polling station if your local station is not
accessible. You must apply to the returning officer (the person responsible
for the election in the constituency) at least a week before the vote to allow
you to vote at a different polling station in the constituency – suggest an
alternative of you are aware of one. If this is possible, the returning
officer issues you with a written authorisation to vote at the alternative
polling station.
In certain
circumstances you may be helped to vote, either by a companion or by the
presiding officer (the person in charge of the polling station). Your ballot
paper may be marked by a companion if you have a visual or other physical
disability. Your companion must be at least 16, may not be a candidate or the
agent of a candidate and may not help more than two
electors at an election.
Candidates for
Public Office
Local Authorities
You may be a
candidate for election to a local authority if you are at least 18 years of age
and an Irish citizen. Certain people are disqualified including government
ministers, judges, various EU office holders, Gardai, civil servants, people
who have been imprisoned for a term longer than 6 months, people who have
failed pay local authority charges and people who have been convicted of fraud.
You may nominate
yourself or be nominated by another elector for election to the local
authority. You do not have to pay a deposit but you must have either a
Certificate of Party Affiliation or have your nomination papers signed by 15
people who are registered to vote.
General Election
You may be a
candidate for election to the Dáil if:
- You are an
Irish citizen
- You are aged over
21 and
- You are not
disqualified
Certain groups
are disqualified from standing for election to the Dáil. They include members
of local authorities, Gardai, members of the Defence Forces and certain state
and EU officials. They also include people of unsound mind and undischarged
bankrupts.
You may nominate
yourself for election or any other elector may nominate you. You do not have
to pay a deposit but you must either have a Certificate of Party Affiliation or
a document containing 30 signatures of registered voters. There are detailed
rules about the timing and form of nominations. You must lodge your nomination
papers with the
returning officer
for the constituency in which you are standing – this does not have to be the
constituency in which you live and you may stand for election in more than one
constituency. The returning officer is usually either the County Sheriff or the County Registrar.
European
Parliament Elections
You may be a
candidate for election to the European Parliament if you are least 21 years of
age and you are an Irish citizen or a citizen of an EU member state who is
living in Ireland. Certain people may not stand – the same groups as are
disqualified from standing for the Dail.
You may nominate
yourself or be nominated by another elector. You do not need to pay a deposit
but you must either have a Certificate of Party Affiliation or a document
containing 60 signatures of registered voters.
Presidential
Elections
You may be a candidate
for election as President if you are an Irish citizen and aged at least 35.
You must be nominated by at least 20 members of the Oireachtas (the Dail and
Seanad) or at least four city or county councils.
Elections
General
elections
Elections to the Dáil
are held at least every five years. Each constituency elects either 3, 4 or 5
Teachtai Dála (TDs) by Proportional Representation.
Constituency
Commission
An independent
Constituency Commission is appointed from time to time to review the number of,
the boundaries to and the number of people to be elected from, the
constituencies for the General and European Parliament elections. Reports
of the Commission are available at:
http://www.constituency-commission.ie
Seanad
Elections
Of the 60 members of the
Seanad, 11 are government appointees, 49 are elected. Three are elected by
graduates of the National University of Ireland, three by graduates of Trinity
College Dublin and the other 43 are elected by members of the Dail, the
outgoing Seanad and members of the local authorities. Senate elections take
place soon after Dail elections. People entitled to vote get postal ballots.
Local
Elections
Local elections
are held every five years. The Secretary or Clerk of the local authority is
responsible for the elections in each local authority area.
There are 29
County Councils and 5 City Councils. There are 80 Town or Borough Councils
(see Leaflet S9 Going South – Government and Public Administration). If
you live in a Borough or Town Council area you may vote in the Borough/town
council election and in the County Council election for your area.
European
Parliament Elections
European
Parliament elections are held every five years. At present, there are four
constituencies for these elections.
Presidential
elections
The term of
office of the President is seven years and a President may serve two terms.
Referendum
Referendums are
held from time to time on various different issues. They usually involve
amendments to the Constitution of Ireland.
Referendum
Commission
A Referendum
Commission is set up to explain the issues in the referendum. The Commission
prepares independent and unbiased information and makes that information
available to the public. It also promotes debate and discussion and encourages
people to vote.
The Referendum
Commission,
c/o Ombudsman's
Office,
18 Lr. Leeson
Street,
Dublin 2.
Tel: (01) 678
5222
www.refcom.ie
Election
Expenses
There are limits
on the amount which election candidates and political parties may spend on an
election and they must account for their expenditure to the Public Offices
Commission.
Public Offices
Commission
18 Lower Leeson
St
Dublin 2
Tel: (01) 630
5666
www.sipo.gov.ie
Challenging the outcome of an
election
You may challenge
the outcome of am election if you are registered or entitled to be registered
as an elector. You petition the High Court within 28 days of the declaration
of the result by the returning officer. You must pay a fee which is refunded
to you if your petition is successful. If you want to challenge the result of
a referendum or a European Parliament election, you must petition the High
Court within seven days.
Voting in UK Elections
If you are a
British citizen, it may be possible for you to vote in UK general elections after you have moved to the South. It is not possible to vote at UK local elections or elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly.
If you have been
on the electoral register while living in the North (or any other part of the UK) in the 15 years before moving South, you may make an annual declaration as an overseas
elector. You may make this declaration if you were too young to be on the
register but you lived in the UK in the previous 15 years and your
parent/guardian was on the register. You may then be included on the electoral
register in the constituency where you were last registered before you moved
South. You may get the necessary forms from the British Embassy or from the
Area Electoral office of the constituency where you used to live.
Irish citizenship
Born on the island of Ireland
You are entitled
to be an Irish citizen if you were born on the island of Ireland before 1
January 2005.
People born on
the island of Ireland since 1 January 2005 are entitled to be Irish citizens
if:
- one of their
parents is an Irish citizen or is entitled to be an Irish citizen or
- one of their
parents has been lawfully living in the island of Ireland for at least
three of the four years before the birth or
- one of their
parents is a British citizen or
- one of their
parents has an unrestricted right to live in Ireland (the South) or
- one of their
parents has an unrestricted right to live in Northern Ireland
Citizenship by
Descent
You may be
entitled to Irish citizenship by descent if, at the time of your birth, one of
your parents was an Irish citizen or was entitled to be an Irish citizen.
So, if you were
born outside the island of Ireland, you may be entitled to be a citizen if:
You have an
Irish Parent: If one
of your parents was an Irish citizen at the time of your birth then you are
entitled to be an Irish citizen from birth.
You have an
Irish Grandparent: If
a grandparent was an Irish citizen you may become an Irish citizen by
registering in the Foreign Births Register at the Department of Foreign Affairs
or at an Irish Embassy or Consular office abroad. The right to Irish
citizenship through grandparents applies only to children born after 17 July
1956.
You have an
Irish Great-grandparent:
If a great grandparent was an Irish citizen then you may become an Irish
citizen but only if your parent (who was entitled as a grandchild) had
registered for Irish citizenship before you were born. If your parent had
registered before 31 December 1986, then you may become an Irish citizen even
if you were born before the registration.
Citizenship by
Naturalisation
If you are not
entitled to Irish citizenship by birth or descent, you may apply for
citizenship by naturalisation. To do this, you must apply to the Minister for
Justice, Equality and Law Reform for a Certificate of Naturalisation. In order
to get this you must fulfil a number of conditions. You must
Ø
be legally an adult
(that is be aged 18 years or married),
Ø
be of good character
(you usually have to supply a Garda report),
Ø
have lived in the
South continuously for a year immediately before applying and for at least 4
of the previous 8 years (or two of the previous four years if you are married
to an Irish citizen),
Ø
intend to continue to
live in the South and
Ø
make a declaration of
fidelity and loyalty (this is required when your application has been
successful. You make this declaration before the District Court).
The granting of
citizenship by naturalisation is at the absolute discretion of the Minister.
You may apply for
citizenship by naturalisation to:
Department
of Justice, Equality and Law Reform,
13/14
Burgh Quay,
Dublin 2.
Lo-Call
1890 551 500
www.justice.ie
Getting an
Irish passport
You may get
passport application forms from Garda stations and from Post Offices. There
are Passport offices in Dublin and Cork.
Passport Office Dublin
Setanta Centre
Molesworth Street
Dublin 2
Tel. +353 1 671 1633
LoCall 1890 426 888
If telephoning
from Northern Ireland LoCall 0845 8504321
passportdublin@iveagh.irlgov.ie
Passport Office Cork
1a South Mall
Cork
Tel. +353 21 494 4700
LoCall 1890 426
900
passportcork@iveagh.gov.ie
Emergency
Service
Out of hours
emergency service Tel. +353 1 478 0822