Abolishing byelections would spark public ‘backlash’, says ex-minister Charlie Flanagan

Byelections should not be abolished and a bid to do so would spark a “backlash” from the public, former minister for justice Charlie Flanagan has warned.

His remarks come after The Irish Times reported on how Minister For Housing Darragh O’Brien has asked the new Electoral Commission to conduct research on replacing byelections with an alternate list system.

Such a system, where candidates would be required to provide a list of people who could be co-opted to fill a vacancy should it arise, is already in operation for European elections.

Bringing it in for Dáil elections would remove the need for byelections.

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Mr O’Brien’s request to the commission arises from a commitment in the programme for government that the issue be examined.

Mr Flanagan, a Fine Gael TD for Laois-Offaly, said byelections “play an important and often crucial role” and “they should not be abolished”.

He said byelections are “one of the few devices available to the people to hold government to account after a government is formed”.

Mr Flanagan added they serve to keep governments “firmly focused on delivery of programme-for-government commitments”, they can strengthen a government or collapse it and they are “a central feature of political cycles”.

He warned: “If Government moves to abolish byelections it’ll spark a similar backlash to the ill-conceived plan to abolish the Seanad.”

In 2013, a referendum to abolish the Seanad, put forward by the then Fine Gael-Labour coalition, was defeated.

It is not yet decided whether replacing byelections will form part of An Coimisiún Toghcháin, the independent Electoral Commission’s first annual research programme which will be finalised later in the year.

While it will consult the Minister, an Oireachtas committee and others, ultimately the research it decides to undertake is a decision for the commission’s members.

The aim of the research programme is ultimately to make recommendations to government on areas of electoral reform.

Mr O’Brien also asked the commission to study the experience of reducing the voting age in Scotland.

The voting age there was reduced to 16 for elections to the Scottish parliament and for local elections.

Two attempts have been made to pass laws in the Seanad to lower the voting age for local and European elections in recent years but they have not progressed beyond the early stages in the legislative process.

Separate Bills proposed by Fianna Fáil senator Malcolm Byrne and Sinn Féin senator Fintan Warfield would see the voting age reduced from 18 to 16 for these elections but there has been no movement on either since March 2021.

Mr Byrne said that if the voting age cannot be lowered in time for next year’s local and European elections, then it should be for the elections due in 2029.

He said: “Having a debate about young people’s participation in civic society will be welcome. It is not just about voting – education is also important. The experiences in other countries will inform discussions.”

Sinn Féin’s spokesman on housing and local government, Eoin Ó Broin, said his party had a “long-standing position” of lowering the voting age to 16.

He pointed to Mr Warfield’s legislation relating to the local and European elections but also said “more generally we would favour lowering the voting age across all elections”.

Changing the voting age for general elections and referendums would require constitutional change and the question to be put to the people in a referendum.