S.I. No. 194/1961 - The Seanad Elections (University Members) Free Postage Regulations, 1961.


S.I. No. 194 of 1961.

THE SEANAD ELECTIONS (UNIVERSITY MEMBERS) FREE POSTAGE REGULATIONS, 1961.

I, MICHAEL HILLIARD, Minister for Posts and Telegraphs in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 25 of the Seanad Electoral (University Members) Act, 1937 (No. 30 of 1937), hereby make the following regulations:

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Seanad Elections (University Members) Free Postage Regulations, 1961.

2. The Interpretation Act, 1937 (No. 38 of 1937), applies to these Regulations.

3. In these Regulations—

" the Act " means the Seanad Electoral (University Members) Act, 1937 (No. 30 of 1937);

" agent " means an election agent of a candidate;

" candidate " means a candidate in an election;

" communication " means a communication entitled to be sent free of any charge for postage by a candidate to an elector;

" constituency " means a constituency for an university;

" election " means a Seanad election;

" elector " means a person registered as an elector in any register of electors for an university constituency;

" the Minister " means the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs.

4. (1) Subject to the provisions of these Regulations, no communication addressed to an elector shall be posted, conveyed or delivered by post unless the communication is handed in or posted in the first instance to Pearse Street Sorting Office in the City of Dublin.

(2) Subject to the conditions contained in paragraph 3 of this Regulation, candidates or their agents may forward from any area save the City or County of Dublin to the Controller of the Dublin Postal District at Pearse Street Sorting Office in the City of Dublin parcels of communications addressed to electors and the said Controller shall place all communications contained in the parcels in the post for delivery to the addressees.

(3) The following conditions shall apply in relation to the parcels mentioned in paragraph 2 of this Regulation:—

(a) postage shall be prepaid on the parcels,

(b) two certificates in the form set out in the First Schedule hereto, signed by the candidate or his agent shall be enclosed with each of the parcels,

(c) after receipt of the certificates mentioned in condition (b) of this paragraph, the Controller of the Dublin Postal District or any officer of the Minister shall stamp one of the certificates with the Post Office date stamp and return it to the candidate or his agent,

(d) specimens of the communications enclosed in each parcel shall be furnished to the Controller of the Dublin Postal District for inspection and retention.

5. Notice of intention to post communications shall be given by the candidate or by his agent not later than the day before posting to the Controller of the Dublin Postal District.

6. The following conditions shall apply in relation to communications:—

(a) communications shall either be enclosed in closed or unclosed covers or be folded in at least three folds, provided that a communication which, in the opinion of any officer of the Minister, is likely to impede sorting or to become unfolded or to entrap other postal packets if sent folded shall not be so sent,

(b) the words " Litir um Thoghchán " or the words " Election Communication " shall be printed or stamped or legibly written at the top of the address side of the communication or, if the communication is enclosed in a cover, of the cover and no other matter shall appear thereon, except the elector's name, address and the notice referred to in paragraph (b) of Regulation 9 hereof,

(c) communications shall not exceed nine inches in length and four and one half inches in width and the weight of the communications shall not exceed two ounces,

(d) save as is otherwise provided for in these Regulations communications shall be handed in between the hours of ten o'clock in the forenoon and four o'clock in the afternoon to Pearse Street Sorting Office in the City of Dublin,

(e) communications shall be—

(i) faced the same way,

(ii) tied in bundles of 120 communications,

and

(iii) as far as possible, sorted according to streets or districts,

(f) the Minister shall not be under any obligation to deliver wrongly addressed or insufficiently addressed communications,

(g) each batch of bundles of communications tendered for posting shall be accompanied by two certificates in the form set out in the Second Schedule hereto and the certificates shall be signed by the candidate or his agent,

(h) the officer of the Minister to whom a batch of bundles of communications is tendered by any person for posting shall stamp one of the certificates mentioned in paragraph (g) of this Regulation with the Post Office date stamp and return it to that person,

(i) the number of communications mentioned in the certificates referred to in condition (g) of this Regulation shall be conclusive evidence of the number of communications posted by the candidate.

7. Where a candidate wishes to exercise the right of free postage of communications before he becomes entitled to do so under the powers contained in section 50 of the Prevention of Electoral Abuses Act, 1923 , as applied by section 25 of the Seanad Electoral (University Members) Act, 1937 (No. 30 of 1937), the following provisions shall apply:—

(a) the candidate shall deposit £50 with the Controller of the Dublin Postal District as security for the payment of postage in the event of the candidate not becoming entitled to exercise the right of free postage,

(b) if the candidate—

(i) fails to secure nomination,

(ii) withdraws from his candidature, or

(iii) is returned unopposed,

an account of such amount of postage as the Minister may consider proper shall be rendered to the candidate and the balance, if any, of the deposit after deduction of the amount of the account aforesaid, shall be returned to the candidate,

(c) each batch of bundles of communications tendered or sent for posting shall be accompanied by two certificates in the form set out in the First or Second Schedule hereto, as appropriate, and the certificates shall be signed by the candidate or his agent,

(d) the officer of the Minister to whom a batch of bundles of communications is tendered or sent by any person for posting shall stamp one of the certificates mentioned in paragraph (c) of this Regulation with the Post Office date stamp and return it to that person,

(e) the number of communications mentioned in the certificates referred to in paragraph (c) of this Regulation shall be conclusive evidence of the number of communications posted by the candidate,

(f) if the election is uncontested in the candidate's constituency, no communications shall be accepted for transmission after the expiration of the time limited for making withdrawals of candidature without prepayment of postage therefor.

8. Communications addressed to an elector's address and redirected from there shall not be forwarded without a postal charge unless the new address appears sufficient and the communication is re-posted not later than the day after the delivery thereof.

9. The following provisions shall apply in relation to communications of a candidate which cannot be delivered for want of a sufficient address or for any other good reason:—

(a) the communications shall be forwarded to Pearse Street Sorting Office in the City of Dublin and held there for three days,

(b) (i) on application by the candidate or his agent during the three days referred to in the preceding paragraph at the office mentioned in that paragraph and on payment of a search fee of three pence, every communication which bears on the left hand half of the address side thereof or, if it is enclosed in a cover, of the cover, a notice in the form set out in the Third Schedule hereto shall be handed to the candidate or his agent,

(ii) every communication in respect of which the requirements of the preceding subparagraph in relation to the notice therein referred to have not been complied with shall, if it bears on the address side thereof, or, if it is enclosed in a cover, of the cover a request for return and the name and address of the candidate or his agent, be returned to the candidate or his agent, as the case may be, on payment of the appropriate charge for postage,

(c) communications not disposed of under the last preceding paragraph may be dealt with or disposed of as the Minister may think fit.

10. Any cover enclosed in a communication for the purpose of a reply thereto shall be marked "Postage to be prepaid ".

11. Joint candidates who are treated as a single candidate in pursuance of the Prevention of Electoral Abuses Act, 1923 , as applied by the Seanad Electoral (University Members) Act, 1937 , may between them post only one communication to an elector and all the provisions of these Regulations shall apply to such communication and the deposit which is required under these Regulations as security for the payment of postage shall not exceed, in the case of joint candidates, a total sum of £50.

12. All regulations made under section 25 of the Seanad Electoral (University Members) Act, 1937 (No. 30 of 1937), before the date of the making of these Regulations are hereby revoked.

FIRST SCHEDULE.

Form of certificate to accompany each parcel of communications posted to the Controller of the Dublin Postal District.

SEANAD ELECTORAL (UNIVERSITY MEMBERS) ACT, 1937 .

This is to certify that a parcel containing _____________________unpaid communications has been forwarded by post on the ______________ day of __________, 19 __to the Controller of the Dublin Postal District with a request that the communications be posted on behalf of

*

/images/si194y61p0011.gif

a duly nominated candidate

a candidate not yet nominated

duly nominated candidates, acting jointly

candidates, acting jointly, not yet nominated

for the Constituency of the *

/images/si194y61p0011.gif

National University of Ireland

University of Dublin

* Strike out where not required

I declare that each communication contains matter relating to the election only, is identical as regards its contents with the specimen attached for inspection and retention and is addressed to a duly registered elector for the constituency of————and that to the best of my knowledge and belief not more than one unpaid communication has been addressed to any one registered elector on behalf of the said——————either to-day or previously and I hereby undertake to pay postage on any communications found to have been posted on behalf of the said candidate in excess of one for each registered elector in the said constituency.

(Signature)————————

Candidate or agent of candidate.

___________

Post Office

Date Stamp

Controller, Dublin Postal District.

SECOND SCHEDULE.

Form of certificate to accompany each batch of bundles of communications tendered for posting.

SEANAD ELECTORAL (UNIVERSITY MEMBERS) ACT, 1937 .

This is to certify that———unpaid communications have been tendered for posting at the hour of—————on the  day of——————, 19———at the Pearse Street Sorting Office on behalf of

*

/images/si194y61p0013.gif

a duly nominated candidate

a candidate not yet nominated

duly nominated candidates, acting jointly

candidates, acting jointly, not yet nominated

for the Constituency of the *

/images/si194y61p0013.gif

National University of Ireland

University of Dublin

* Strike out where not required.

I declare that each communication contains matter relating to the election only, is identical as regards its contents with the specimen produced for inspection and retention, and is addressed to a duly registered elector for the constituency of—————and that to the best of my knowledge and belief not more than one unpaid communication has been tendered for posting to any one registered elector on behalf of the said——————either to-day or previously and I hereby undertake to pay postage on any communications found to have been posted on behalf of the said candidate in excess of one for each registered elector in the said constituency.

(Signature)———————————

Candidate or agent of candidate.

___________

Post Office

Date Stamp

Controller, Dublin Postal District.

THIRD SCHEDULE.

Notice.

If undelivered to be returned at once to Pearse Street Sorting Office, Dublin.

GIVEN under my Official Seal, this 26th day of August, 1961.

MICHAEL HILLIARD.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

These Regulations prescribe the conditions under which a candidate for an University constituency at a Seanad Election may send by post, free of postage, one communication relating solely to the election to every person registered as an elector for the constituency.