No. 2/1928:

LOCAL ELECTIONS (POLLING DISTRICTS AND POLLING PLACES) RULES, 1928.

LOCAL ELECTIONS (POLLING DISTRICTS AND POLLING PLACES) RULES, 1928.

DEPARTMENT OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC HEALTH.

LOCAL ELECTIONS ACT, 1927 .

In pursuance of the powers vested in me by subsection (1) of section 14 of the Local Elections Act, 1927 , and of all other powers enabling me in this behalf, I, the Minister for Local Government and Public Health do, by this my Order, make the following rules for the performance by the councils of counties and county boroughs of the duties imposed and powers conferred on them by the said section 14 in relation to polling districts and polling places :—

1.—(1) This Order may be cited as the Local Elections (Polling Districts and Polling Places) Rules, 1928.

(2) This Order shall apply to the council of every county and county borough other than the County and County Borough of Dublin.

2.—In this Order the expression " The Act " means the Local Elections Act, 1927 ; the expression " scheme " means a scheme for the division of every local electoral area in a county or county borough into polling districts and the appointment of polling places in every such polling district in such manner as to give to all local government electors in every such local electoral area such reasonable facilities for voting as are practicable ; the expression " provisional scheme " means a scheme prepared by the council of the county or county borough for consideration by the various local authorities and officers affected thereby before such scheme is adopted by the council.

3.—Every scheme or provisional scheme for a county shall consist of as many parts as there are county electoral areas in the county. Each part shall contain the portion of the scheme or provisional scheme relating to one county electoral area and to every local electoral area within that county electoral area.

4.—A scheme or provisional scheme for a county shall (wherever practicable) divide every county electoral area into polling districts consisting of one or more district electoral divisions.

5.—A scheme or provisional scheme shall set forth :—

(1) the name of every polling district constituted thereby,

(2) the district electoral divisions of which every such polling district is to be composed or where portion only of a district electoral division is included in a polling district the townlands included in such portion,

(3) the polling places in every such polling district.

6.—(1) The council of every county and county borough shall prepare a provisional scheme for their county or county borough as soon as possible after the date of this Order.

(2) As soon as the provisional scheme has been prepared the council shall cause to be sent by post to every local authority (other than the council) the election of members to which is to be affected by the provisional scheme and to every person whose duty it is to act as returning officer at any such election a copy of the provisional scheme together with a request to such local authority or person to examine the provisional scheme and to notify to the council in writing before the expiration of fourteen days from the day upon which such copy was sent to such local authority or person the alterations (if any) which in the opinion of such local authority or person should be made in the provisional scheme before adoption by the council.

7.—After the expiration of two weeks from the sending of copies of the provisional scheme under the preceding Article to the local authorities and persons specified in that Article, and after considering the representations (if any) received from such local authorities and persons the council may adopt the provisional scheme, with or without amendment, for submission to the Minister under section 14 of the Act.

8.—When a provisional scheme has been adopted by the council,

(1) two copies of the scheme, sealed with the seal of the council shall be forthwith transmitted to the Minister,

(2) copies of the scheme shall be kept available at such one or more convenient places in the county or county borough as the council may direct for inspection in office hours by any elector or person affected by the scheme during a period of two weeks after the date when the public notice of the adoption of the scheme is given under this Article.

In the case of a scheme for a county there shall be at least one such place in each borough, urban district, town, or county electoral area situate in such county.

(3) Public notice of the adoption of the scheme by the council shall be given forthwith by advertisement in a newspaper circulating in the county or county borough, and the advertisement shall be in the form set forth in the schedule to these rules and shall contain the information indicated in the said form.

(4) On or before the date when public notice of the adoption of the scheme by the council is given under this rule a copy thereof shall be sent to every local authority or person to whom a copy of the provisional scheme is required to be sent under Article 6 of these rules.

9.—When the scheme has been confirmed by the Minister under sub-section (4) of section 14 of the Act with or without alterations :—

(1) The council shall publish notice of such confirmation in the form set forth in the schedule to these rules in some newspaper circulating in the county or county borough.

(2) The council shall send to every local authority or person to whom a copy of the provisional scheme is required to be sent under sub-article (2) of Article 6 of these rules, and to the Minister a copy of the scheme as so confirmed.

(3) The council shall keep a copy of the scheme as so confirmed open to inspection by any elector or person affected thereby at the office of the council during office hours.

(4) Where the scheme is made for a county, the council of every borough (other than a county borough) or urban district and the commissioners of every town in the county shall keep a copy of the scheme as so confirmed open to inspection by any elector or person affected thereby at their offices during office hours.

10.—So long as a copy of a scheme as adopted by a council, or as confirmed by the Minister is required to be open to inspection under these rules, the council shall supply a copy of the scheme as so adopted or confirmed to every person who makes application therefor to the secretary or clerk of the council at a charge not exceeding three pence where the copy supplied is a printed copy and where the copy supplied is not a printed copy at a charge not exceeding three pence for each hundred words.

11.—In addition to the public notice of the adoption of a scheme required by sub-article (3) of Article 8 of these rules, the council may, if they are of opinion that circumstances so require, publish the scheme in full in a newspaper circulating in the county or county borough.

12.—Before making an amendment in a scheme in force in a county or county borough under section 14 of the Act the council of such county or county borough shall prepare a provisional amendment, and these Rules shall apply to such amendment and provisional amendment in the same manner as they apply to a scheme and a provisional scheme respectively.

Given under My Official Seal of Office this Ninth day of January in the Year of Our Lord One Thousand Nine Hundred and Twenty-eight

(Signed) RISTEARD UA MAOLCHATHA,

Minister for Local Government and Public Health.

SCHEDULE.

FORM OF NOTICE OF ADOPTION OF SCHEME BY COUNCIL.

LOCAL ELECTIONS ACT, 1927 .

Notice is hereby given that the Council of            in pursuance of section 14 of the above Act has adopted a scheme for the division of every local electoral area in the       into polling districts and the appointment of polling places in every such polling district, and has submitted the scheme to the Minister for Local Government and Public Health for his confirmation. Copies of the scheme as so submitted may be inspected in office hours during a period of two weeks from this date at the following places :—

Copies may be obtained on application to the

of the Council at a charge of  s.  d.

Before confirming the scheme, with or without alteration, the Minister will consider representations from any local authority or person interested submitted to him within two weeks from this date.

FORM OF NOTICE OF CONFIRMATION OF SCHEME BY MINISTER.

LOCAL ELECTIONS ACT, 1927 .

County

Division of         County Borough into polling districts.

Notice is hereby given that the Minister for Local Government

(with)

and Public Health has confirmed (without) alterations the scheme

(County  )

submitted to him by the Council of the (County Borough) of

    on the  day of    , for the division

(County   )

of every local electoral area in the said (County Borough) into polling districts and the appointment of polling places in every such polling district.

Copies of the scheme as confirmed may be inspected during office hours at the offices of the Council or of the

(insert names of borough councils, urban district councils or town commissioners at whose offices the scheme may be inspected, if any.)

Copies may be obtained on application to the

of the Council at a charge of  s.  d.

Note.—Notice of adoption or confirmation of an amendment to a scheme can be given in either of the above forms with the appropriate alteration.