Approval of Bodies for the Purposes of the Referendum

The Referendum Act 1998 provides that a body may apply to the Referendum Commission for a declaration that it is an approved body for the purposes of a referendum. Approved bodies are entitled to appoint agents to attend at the issue and opening of postal voters’ ballot papers, at polling stations and at the counting of votes. Members of both Houses of the Oireachtas, who currently have the right to appoint such agents, would continue to have this right.

In order to become an approved body, an applicant must fulfill certain conditions:

• The body must be a body corporate or unincorporated body which, or a branch of which, is established in the State, governed by a constitution, a memorandum of association or other such document or other written rules and having a membership of not less than 300;
• The body must have an interest in the referendum and have a name which is not identical to, or does not closely resemble, the name of a political party registered in the Register of Political Parties. A political party for the time being registered in the Register of Political Parties is deemed to be a body for the purposes of the  Act and need not establish compliance with the above conditions; 
• Applications must be made on the official form, which is available from the Commission and must be submitted within such time as the Commission may specify.

The Referendum Commission may refuse to make a declaration if a body does not fulfil the relevant conditions, or fails to provide the Commission with reasonable information or documentation which the Commission considers necessary to determine the application.

The Commission may also revoke a declaration made by it in relation to a body where it is satisfied that false information has been furnished to it. The Act also provides, under section 9, that it will be an offence knowingly to provide false information in relation to an application.

On 27 August 2009, advertisements were placed in the national press inviting applications from bodies seeking approval for the purposes of the referendum. The specified closing date was 8 September 2009. Following the application process the Commission approved 11 bodies. These bodies are listed in the following table.

Two bodies applied for approved status but were not considered because the applications were received late:

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