COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

South Dublin County Council Crest

MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

Monday, July 08, 2024

QUESTION NO. 8

QUESTION: Councillor C. Brady

To ask the Chief Executive for a report into the management and conduct of local elections including the management of polling stations, the count, etc. Report to include if there will be an opportunity for candidates, agents, tally volunteers and polling station and count staff to provide feedback on relevant matters?

REPLY:

The local elections 2024 for South Dublin County Council were managed by the appointed Local Elections Returning Officer, Lorna Maxwell, in accordance with the following statutory provisions:

A Memorandum for the Guidance of Local Authority Returning Officers at the Local Elections June 2024 was issued by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide further guidance on the interpretation of the regulations and setting out the arrangements and separation of responsibilities between the European and the Local Authority Returning Officers.   For instance, the European Local Returning Officer had responsibility for taking the poll at polling stations for both European and Local Elections and also for the issuing of Polling cards, conducting special voting, the separation of the local and the European ballot papers and the verification of the ballot paper accounts.  

Substantial preparations are required to ensure the local elections are run in full compliance with these requirements, which commenced in 2023. Considerations included the selection and layout of the venue, catering, compliance with health and safety requirements, security considerations, public communications plans, audio-visual systems within the venue, the selection and training of staff, supervisors and Deputy Returning Officers, interaction with the European Local Returning Officer, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, with candidates and agents, An Garda Síochána who have a key role throughout, public relations with the media, publication of the required advertisements, data and information at various stages of the process, and the preparation of the Return.

The Returning Officer would like to take this opportunity to thank all of those who were involved in and contributed to the management of the elections, and the exceptional work that was done to ensure the accuracy of the count and the transparency and professionalism which she observed throughout by all staff and at all times.  

There was much feedback received by the Returning Officer and the Deputy Returning Officers from candidates and agents on the days covering the count and throughout the entire process. Where possible, this was responded to and addressed immediately when it was appropriate and possible to do so. In more general terms the feedback received has been very complimentary, with acknowledgements from parties/candidates involved of a transparent process with assistance provided where needed and queries responded to swiftly.  Based on all of the feedback received to date, it is felt that the management and conduct of the Local Elections process was successful with the primacy of count accuracy and transparency at the forefront of the criteria of such an assessment. 

Any further feedback from candidates and/or agents regarding the local elections is welcome and should be sent to returningofficer@sdublincoco.ie as a priority, or can be given to the Returning Officer in person. Internal debriefings with the key teams involved in the organisation of what is a large scale event is underway and a full document being compiled for consideration in the preparations for the next local elections in 2029.