Electoral Act, 1923

Expenses of Registration.

12.—(1) Any expenses properly incurred by a registration officer in the performance of his duties in relation to registration, including all proper and reasonable charges for trouble, care and attention in the performance of those duties other than duties which are performed by the registration officer in person (which expenses are in this Act referred to as “registration expenses”) shall be paid:—

(a) in the case of an administrative county by the County Council of that county;

(b) in the case of a county borough by the Council of that county borough.

(2) The registration expenses shall be paid in the case of the Council of an administrative county out of the Poor Rate as a county at large charge, and in the case of the Council of a county borough out of the rate or fund out of which the general expenses of the Council are paid, or out of any other rate or fund which the Minister for Local Government may on the application of the Council approve.

(3) The Minister for Finance may frame a scale of registration expenses applicable to all or any class or classes of those expenses, and may alter the scale as and when he thinks fit.

Any expenses incurred by the registration officer of a class to which the scale is applicable shall be taken to be properly incurred if they do not exceed the maximum amount determined by or in accordance with the scale, and so far as they do exceed that amount shall be taken not to have been properly incurred unless the excess is specially sanctioned by the Council and the Minister for Finance either before or after the expenses have been incurred.

If any question arises whether any expenses incurred by the registration officer of a class to which the scale is not applicable have been properly incurred or not, that question shall be referred to the Minister for Local Government, and the decision of the Minister on the question shall be final.

(4) Any fees or other sums received by the registration officer in respect of his duties as such officer, other than sums paid to that officer in respect of his registration expenses, shall be accounted for by that officer and paid to the credit of the fund or rate out of which the expenses of that officer are paid.

(5) There shall be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas to the council of any county or borough in aid of the fund or rate out of which any registration expenses are paid by the council in accordance with this Act one-half of the amount so paid by the council.

(6) On request of the registration officer of any registration area for an advance on account of registration expenses the council by which the registration expenses for that area are payable may, if they think fit, make such an advance to such officer of such amount and subject to such conditions as the council may approve, and if such council shall refuse to make to the registration officer any advance, or any part of any advance, for which he shall have made such request as aforesaid, the Minister for Local Government may, on the application of the registration officer, direct the council to make to the registration officer such advance as the Minister aforesaid shall think right, but not exceeding the amount of the advance for which the registration officer shall have made such request as aforesaid and the council shall forthwith make to the registration officer an advance in accordance with such direction.

(7) The Minister for Local Government shall procure all printing required for registration purposes to be done by such persons and at such prices as he shall think proper, and the cost of such printing shall be part of the registration expenses of the registration area, or several registration areas, for the use of which such printing is done, and one-half of the cost of such printing shall be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas, and the other half thereof shall be paid by the council by which the registration expenses of which such printing forms part are payable: Provided that any question as to the apportionment between the several registration areas of the cost of any printing which is done for the use of more than one registration area shall be fixed by the Minister for Local Government.

(8) This section shall not apply to University constituencies.