S.I. No. 262/1966 - Returning Officers' (Borough and County Constituencies) Bye-Election Charges Order, 1966.

S.I. No. 262 of 1966.

RETURNING OFFICERS' (BOROUGH AND COUNTY CONSTITUENCIES) BYE-ELECTION CHARGES ORDER, 1966.

I, CHARLES J. HAUGHEY, Minister for Finance, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 25 (5) of the Electoral Act, 1923 (No. 12 of 1923), as extended by section 23 (4) of the Electoral Act, 1963 (No. 19 of 1963), hereby orders as follows :

1. This Order may be cited as the Returning Officers' (Borough and County Constituencies) Bye-Election Charges Order, 1966.

2. The Interpretation Act, 1937 (No. 38 of 1937), applies to this Order.

3. The scale of maximum charges for the purposes of section 25 of the Electoral Act, 1923 , as extended by section 23 (4) of the Electoral Act, 1963 , to be paid to returning officers in respect of the conduct of a bye-election shall be the scale set forth in the Schedule to these Regulations.

4. The scale prescribed for bye-elections by the Returning Officers' (Borough and County Constituencies) Charges Orders, 1937 to 1965, shall not apply to any bye-election held after the making of this Order.

SCHEDULE

Scale of Maximum Charges

1. In this scale " constituency " means any constituency named in the Schedule to the Electoral (Amendment) Act, 1961 (No. 19 of 1961), " borough constituency " means any constituency named in Part I of that Schedule and " county constituency" means any constituency named in Part II of that Schedule.

2. The returning officer shall be entitled in respect of the conduct of a bye-election to his reasonable charges, not exceeding the sums set forth in the scale prescribed for general elections by the Returning Officers' (Borough and County Constituencies) Charges Orders, 1937 to 1965, provided that the charges for disbursement are in no case to exceed the sums actually and necessarily paid or payable, and that the fees and charges shall not exceed the sums hereinafter set forth in lieu of the sums set forth in A1 (1), A1 (2), A1 (4) and B (2) respectively of Part II of the aforesaid scale :

(i) To the returning officer or the assistant returning officer for conducting the bye-election and generally performing all the duties which a returning officer is required by law to perform :

As respects a borough constituency—

As respects a county constituency—

Provided that

(a) where, at any time, a returning officer conducts bye-elections, in more than one borough constituency, those bye-elections shall be deemed to be a single bye-election and those constituencies shall be deemed to be a single borough constituency ;

(b) where, at any time, a returning officer conducts more than one bye-election in the same borough constituency, those bye-elections shall be deemed to be a single bye-election and the number of electors shall be deemed to be the actual number of electors in the constituency multiplied by the actual number of such bye-elections.

(ii) To the returning officer for receiving nominations, withdrawals, making returns to writs, etc. :—

(iii) To the returning officer for all duties appertaining to the counting of votes in a constituency :

(iv) Counting the votes :

The total sum payable to a returning officer in pursuance of the provision of the foregoing sub-paragraph (iv) for and in respect of the counting of votes may be increased by one-fifth if there is more than one count, and by two-fifths if there are more than two counts (as defined in Rule 12 (9) in the Third Schedule to the Electoral Act, 1923 ).

3. For the purposes of this Scale—

(i) where the returning officer transfers under any of the provisions of the Rules in the Third Schedule to the Electoral Act, 1923 , a surplus consisting of original votes, the transfer shall be reckoned as two counts,

(ii) where he excludes under any of those provisions in one operation two or more lowest candidates, the exclusions shall only be reckoned as one count,

(iii) where he excludes under any of those provisions a candidate the number of whose votes are less than one-third of the quota, the exclusion shall not reckon as a count, and

(iv) no operation shall be reckoned as a " Count " unless an actual transfer of papers is required to be made and is made.

4. In the event of a re-examination and recount of votes under paragraph (1B) (inserted by section 39 of the Electoral Act, 1963 ) of Rule 10 of the Third Schedule to the Electoral Act, 1923 , there shall be paid in respect thereof such sum as may be authorised by the Minister for Finance based on (a) the time spent thereon and (b) remuneration for the original count.

GIVEN under my Official Seal, this 1st day of December, 1966.

CHARLES J. HAUGHEY,

Minister for Finance.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

This order provides for the fees and disbursements of Returning Officers in respect of the conduct of a Drill bye-election.