Council Structure and Electoral Register Frequently Asked Questions
The Elected Councillors of Fingal County Council are the representatives of the residents of the County. They have powers to set budgets, develop plans and strategies, vote on motions, and other functions. Check the 2014 Local Government Reform Act on the Irish Statute Book website: http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2014/act/1/enacted/en/html
There are forty Councillors. From these, the Council elects a Mayor and Deputy Mayor.
Council Meetings, Area and Committee Meetings are broadcast online and can be accessed at http://meetings.fingal.ie/ieDocHome.aspx?bcr=1
You can find the Councillors for your local area, along with their contact details, at https://www.fingal.ie/council/councillors.
Fingal County Council’s services, policies, plans and strategies are decided by the Elected Council, and are then implemented by the Executive.
The Executive is led by a Chief Executive and an Executive Management team, and provides a wide range of services and facilities from roads infrastructure to parks, open spaces, community centres, libraries and housing.
The Register of Electors is a record of all those who are currently eligible to vote in local and national elections and referendums.
You can check the register at https://www.checktheregister.ie/PublicPages/Default.aspx?uiLang=
Application forms to change, amend or add your details to the Register can be found at https://www.checktheregister.ie/PublicPages/AppForms.aspx
Complete form RFA 2, have it stamped at your local Garda Station and return to the Franchise Section, Fingal County Council, County Hall Main Street, Swords, Co Dublin. Please remember that on polling day your name will appear in the Supplemental Register.
If you didn’t apply in time to be included on the Draft Register then you can apply at any time of the year to be included on the Supplemental Register. You are automatically transferred from the Supplemental Register to the Live Register at the time of publication of the next Live Register. If you are on the Supplemental Register you will be voting at Table 1 in the designated Polling Location. Polling Cards for those on the Supplement are sent out after those on the Live Register as the closing date for receipt of applications is so close to Polling Day.
The latest date is 14 days prior to Polling Day excluding Sundays and Public Holidays. If the Council refuses to accept your application for inclusion you can appeal this decision to the County Registrar.
Complete Form RFA 3, have it stamped at your local Garda Station and return to the Franchise Section, Fingal County Council, County Hall Main Street, Swords, Co Dublin. Please remember that on polling day your name will appear in the Supplemental Register. You will automatically be placed on the Main Register in respect of the following year.
A misspelling is regretted and should be notified to the Council when the draft register is published. If however you are late checking the register and have only now become aware please email [email protected] with the phrase “incorrect spelling of name” in the subject bar. This office can notify the Returning Officer of the issue to ensure you can vote on polling day. You will still be required to present evidence of identity.
Or you can download the RFA 2 form, have it stamped by An Garda Siochana and return the form to Fingal County Council.
There are several reasons why this might be the case:
Unless you enter your name and address exactly as they are listed on the register then you won’t find your details. For example; you search for Main Street when it is called Main Road on the Register.
Can your name be spelt another way for example O’Donnell, ODonnell, O'Donnell , Claire, Clare, Sean without a fada etc. Unless you are querying it the way it is entered on the system you won’t be able to find your records. Every effort is made to ensure your name is spelt correctly. If it isn’t please let us know and it can be amended on request.
You are on the supplemental register which is not viewable online.
You are on the draft register. You are not on the Register of Electors until after the 15th February of the following year.
The only circumstances this is permitted are as follows:
In the event of the death of a close family relative. The Council will confirm the details independently.
In the event of the medical condition of a close family changing to the point that they can no longer vote. Medical Evidence in the form of confirmation from the individuals GP is required.
The Council has no way of knowing you live at a particular property or that you have turned 18. It is the responsibility of each individual to register to vote.
It is your responsibility to make contact with the Council to update your records and ensure they are accurate.
Yes. The Polling Card simply tells you when and where to vote. You do not require it to vote. You can confirm the details via www.checktheregister.ie on the printed Register in the Library or by contacting the Franchise Section of Fingal County Council at 01-8905992 or [email protected] . It is not a requirement to produce the Polling Card on Polling Day. You are required to have proof of I.D. regardless of whether you have a Polling Card or not.
In order to be eligible to vote you must be resident in Ireland on the 25thSeptember each year. If you are not ordinarily resident in Ireland, you should not be registered to vote at all. There is no system for Irish Citizens’ who live abroad to be on the Register of Electors or to vote. The only exceptions are for members of the Army, Garda Siochana or Foreign Service posted overseas. These individuals have to apply for a postal vote as it is not awarded automatically.
If you are aware in advance that you will be away on Polling Day you should apply for a Postal Vote in advance. Your application should contain the reason you require the Postal Vote. Postal votes may be awarded to people who are working away from home or studying in University.
The County Returning Officer recruits all staff that work on Polling Day and on the Count. Applications can be made to [email protected] . Or [email protected] . Fingal County Council has no role is awarding any work related to the Polling Station or Count.
The purpose of the Register of Electors is to maintain a list of people eligible to vote. The vast majority of electors are living in estates and have a uniform address i.e. house number, road name, area name. The addresses are entered from the naming and numbering protocols within the Planning Department. The test of accuracy is whether the Polling Card is delivered to you. The Register won’t be changed to reflect a person’s preference to be Portmarnock rather than Baldoyle or Sutton rather than Howth. If your address is Sutton and is mistakenly listed as Howth the records will be changed.
In a rural area the Register is set up on Townland Names. The townland names are strictly monitored to prevent the situation whereby neighbour’s are listed in different townlands. While at some point neighbours are, correctly, in different Townlands the Council does not want a situation whereby people are registered in the incorrect Townland as this leads to errors such as duplicate entries or the wrong person being deleted.
If you feel your address is incorrect to the point where your Polling Card won’t be delivered please contact the Council at [email protected] or 018905992.
Each year as part of the Draft Register process, amendments have to be made to the Register. The Draft Register is published in November each year. If the Council is making an amendment to your record, subsequent to the publication of the Draft, you are written to notifying you and giving you the opportunity to comment on and appeal the decision.
No. That date is the latest for making amendments to the draft Register for the following year.