Date for local and European elections announced

The date for this year's local and European elections has been fixed as Friday May 23, Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government Phil Hogan has just announced.

It means that Athlone Town Council will cease to exist on that day.

Voting hours will be from 7am to 10pm, and every person aged 18 years or over is entitled to be registered as a local government elector for the local electoral area where they ordinarily reside: citizenship is not a requirement for voting at the local elections. At the local elections 949 members of 31 local authorities will be elected in 137 local electoral areas.

Every Irish and other EU citizen living in Ireland aged 18 years or over is entitled to be registered to vote at the European Parliament elections in Ireland. 

Eleven MEPs will be elected in the State at the European Parliament elections next May.

There are some 3.25 million local government and European electors on the current register.  A new register of electors, which will apply at the elections, will be published on February 1, 2014, and come into force on February 15, 2014.

In announcing the date for the elections, the Minister encouraged people who are eligible to vote but who missed the opportunity to get on this new register when it was being prepared to apply for inclusion in the supplement to the register of electors at the earliest opportunity. 

Application forms will need to be received by the registration authority for the area in which the applicant is resident not later than May 6, 2014. 

For those seeking inclusion in the supplement to the postal and special voters lists, the application forms will need to be received by the registration authority not later than April 26, 2014.