Seanad Electoral (Panel Members) Act, 1947

The completion of the panels.

36.—(1) At eleven o'clock in the morning on the day and at the place appointed in that behalf by a Seanad general election order, the Seanad returning officer shall attend and hold a sitting (in this Act referred to as the completion of the panels) at which he shall do all such things as he is required by the subsequent provisions of this Act to do at such sitting.

(2) At the completion of the panels, the Seanad returning officer shall proceed as follows:—

(a) he shall group the provisional Oireachtas sub-panels and the provisional nominating bodies sub-panels into five groups, each group consisting of a provisional Oireachtas sub-panel and a provisional nominating bodies sub-panel in respect of the same panel;

(b) as respects each of the groups of sub-panels—

(i) he shall examine each nomination paper in pursuance of which a person was entered in either sub-panel, shall rule upon the validity or invalidity of each nomination paper and the validity or invalidity of the nomination purported to be made thereby and shall delete from the sub-panels every entry made therein in pursuance of a nomination paper or a nomination which he decides to be invalid,

(ii) he shall examine the qualifications of each person whose name remains on the sub-panels after the said deletions and shall delete from the sub-panels the name of every person in respect of whom he is not satisfied that such person is qualified under subsection 1° of section 7 of Article 18 of the Constitution to be on the panel to which the sub-panels relate,

(iii) he shall, in respect of every person whom he determines to be qualified to be on such panel, enter in the relevant sub-panel a statement, in such form as he thinks proper, of the qualifications which he determines to be in fact the qualification of such person to be on such panel,

(iv) he shall then delete all duplicate entries remaining on the sub-panels and shall for that purpose give preference to a nomination by a nominating body;

(c) if, when the provisions of paragraph (b) of this subsection have been complied with, any person is found to be entered in two or more groups of sub-panels—

(i) the Seanad returning officer shall retain the name of such person on such one of the groups as such person or his agent elects,

(ii) if such person or his agent (as the case may be) refuses or fails to elect or neither such person nor his agent is present or reasonably available, the Seanad returning officer shall retain the name of such person in such one of the groups of sub-panels as the Seanad returning officer determines by lot,

(iii) the Seanad returning officer shall delete the name of such person from all the groups of sub-panels except that on which he is required, by whichever of the foregoing subparagraphs of this paragraph is applicable, to retain the name of such person.

(3) In carrying out the provisions of this Act in relation to the proceedings at the completion of the panels, the Seanad returning officer shall have due regard to all decisions of the judicial referee on questions referred to him under this Act by the Seanad returning officer.

(4) A decison by the Seanad returning officer at the completion of the panels shall be final and conclusive subject only to such reference to the judicial referee as is provided for by this Act.