Electoral Act, 1992

Candidates entitled to free postage.

57.—(1) Subject to subsections (2) and (4), each candidate at a Dáil election shall, subject to such conditions as may be specified under section 74 of the Postal and Telecommunications Services Act, 1983 , be entitled to send, free of any charge for postage, to each person on the register of Dáil electors for the constituency or to any combination of such persons, one postal communication containing matter relating to the election only and not exceeding 50 grammes in weight.

(2) (a) Where at any Dáil election, any person is a candidate, other than a candidate to whom subsection (4) refers, in more than one constituency he shall not be entitled to exercise the right of free postage conferred by this section in respect of more than one such constituency.

(b) A candidate to whom paragraph (a) applies, or his agent, shall indicate in writing to An Post the constituency in respect of which he wishes to exercise his right to free postage under this section.

(3) A candidate shall not be entitled to exercise the right of free postage conferred by this section before he is validly nominated, unless he has given such security as may be required by An Post for the payment of the postage on all communications sent by him under this section in case he does not eventually become nominated.

(4) Where in a constituency two or more candidates at a Dáil election are candidates of the same political party then for the purposes of this section those candidates shall be regarded as a single candidate.

(5) The Minister may, after consultation with the Minister for Tourism, Transport and Communications and such other persons as he considers appropriate, by order amend the provisions of this section.

(6) (a) The Minister may revoke or amend an order under this section (including an order under this subsection).

(b) Where an order under this section (including an order under this subsection) is proposed to be made, a draft thereof shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas and the order shall not be made until a resolution approving of the draft has been passed by each such House.