Local Elections in Ireland

Information

Local elections are held in Ireland every 5 years in the month of May or June. At these elections, members of the local community elect Councillors to represent the community in local authorities. At present, there are over 3 million local government electors in Ireland.

The number of Councillors that may be elected to each local authority changes from area to area. For example, 48 members may be elected to Cork County Council and 21 members may be elected to Carlow County Council.

The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government may divide each, town, city or county area into smaller local electoral areas and may fix the number of Councillors that can be elected for each of these electoral areas.

Where the local authority area is not divided into local electoral areas, that area is regarded as one electoral area with all of the Councillors being elected from that one area.

The polling date is fixed by an order of the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and is the same day in all of the local authority areas. The polling period must last at least 12 hours between 7.00 am and 10.30 pm.

The responsibility for conducting the election lies with the secretary or clerk of each local authority who acts as the returning officer. Each local authority pays the cost of running the election.

There is a week for nominating candidates to stand at local election; this takes place 4 weeks before the polling day

On the polling day, voters may vote by secret ballot in their local polling station. The electoral system is based on proportional representation with single transferable vote.

If a candidate is elected to more than one local authority area, he or she must declare in writing which area he or she wishes to represent within 3 days of the public notice of the results of the election.

Rules

You do not have to be an Irish citizen to vote in a local election.

You must be over 18 years of age and you must live in the local electoral area.

You must be registered on the Register of Electors compiled every year by County and City Councils. You can find out more about registering to vote.

You may not vote in both a County Council and a City Council election. However, you may vote in a Borough or Town Council election as well as the County Council election. The Town or Borough Council election will be held at the same time as the County or City Council elections. You will be given two ballot papers and you can vote for candidates on both Councils.

Local election posters and signs

The law in Ireland forbids the putting up of posters/signs on poles or other structures in public places unless you have the written permission of the owner of the pole or other structure in advance of putting up the posters/signs. There are no rules in place regarding how far in advance of a local election that posters and signs can be erected. However, local authorities have the power to introduce bye-laws if they so choose to set down when promotional material can be erected. Local authorities also have the power to remove these items should they disintegrate or cause a litter nuisance.

Following an election, a party/candidate must remove posters within a seven day period. After that date, an on-the-spot fine of €150 is issued by your local authority in respect of each offence. Your local authority will remove the poster and issue a fine. If a party/candidate has been issued with a fine and refuses to pay, they can be prosecuted in the District Court by your local authority to enforce payment. The maximum penalty if tried summarily for non-payment of the fine is €3,000 or €130,000 on indictment.

How to apply

To check whether or not your name is on the Electoral Register, enquire at your local Garda Station, post office, public library or local authority office. Contact information for every Garda station in Ireland is available at the front of all public telephone directories.

To be included on the Electoral Register, you must complete an application form and return it to your local authority. Application forms are available at your local authority office. You can read more about your right to vote in Ireland here.

Once you have filled out the application form, you must post it to the Council by freepost. There is no need to put a stamp on the envelope.