Here's all you need to know about the upcoming May elections
On May 24 we will be asked to cast our votes in three important elections. That includes a local election, a European election, a referendum and, in some areas of the country, a plebiscite.
In the local elections, you’ll be voting for your local councillors and in the European elections, you’ll be voting for our MEPs across three Irish constituencies.
The referendum will determine the time limits for divorce and if you live in Waterford, Limerick and Cork, you’ll have an additional vote in the directly-elected mayor plebiscite.
Local Elections
Every five years, voters elect councillors to local authorities.
Voters will be electing 949 people to seats in 31 councils/local authorities around Ireland.
These will be the people you go to about potholes, housing, planning and any local beef you may have.
You do not have to be an Irish citizen to vote in the Local Elections, although you do have to live in the local electoral area and be 18 or over.
Again, you do not have to be an Irish citizen to be elected to a local authority.
Those who are ordinarily resident in Ireland, and aged 18 or older, are eligible to run in these elections.
A full list of local election candidates will be available after May 4 from your local authorities website.
To find out which local electoral area you are in, visit the website of your local county or city council.
European Elections
Across the European Union, more than 700 members will be elected to the European Parliament.
Ireland will be electing 13 MEPs.
Of course, it will.
The European elections actually only require 11 MEPs to be elected to Europe from the three Irish constituencies.
The remaining two seats will only be allocated if the UK leaves the EU.
These will be the people who take the final seats in the Dublin constituency and South constituency.
Ireland has three European Parliament constituencies - Dublin; Midlands-North-West; and South.
Dublin is a four-seat constituency taking in Dublin City, Dún-Laoghaire-Rathdown, Fingal and South Dublin.
Midlands-North-West is a four-seat constituency taking in Cavan, Donegal, Galway, Kildare, Leitrim, Longford, Louth, Mayo, Meath, Monaghan, Roscommon, Sligo and Westmeath.
The South is a five-seat constituency taking in Carlow, Clare, Cork, Kerry, Kilkenny, Laois, Limerick, Offaly, Tipperary, Waterford, Wexford and Wicklow.
Check out the list below*
Divorce Referendum
The main change to divorce procedures, if approved by the electorate, would see couples having to live apart for two of the last four years, as opposed to three out of five under the current regime.
If the proposal is passed, it will allow the Oireachtas to set the time requirements in the legislation.
We will also be asked about the recognition of foreign divorces.
The Referendum Commission says that there will be one question on the ballot paper. It says voters can either vote Yes to allow both changes or No to reject both changes.
However, voters cannot accept one change and reject the other.
Mayoral Plebiscite
If you live in Waterford, Limerick and Cork, you’ll have an additional vote in the directly-elected mayoral plebiscite.
This means you will be asked if you want the power to vote directly for your mayor on a five-year term basis.
Am I registered to vote?
Visit checktheregister.ie to see if you are on the electoral register.
Alternatively, you can also contact your local county council, Garda station, or Local Authority Office.
If you are entitled to vote and not on the register, you must fill in a RFA2 form and hand it into your local authorities.
This must be completed before May 7.
To change your address on the register, you will need to fill out a RFA3 form and give it into your local authorities of the county council you are currently listed in.
*Full list of European candidates by constituency:
DUBLIN
Barry Andrews (Fianna Fáil)
Lynn Boylan (Sinn Féin)
Gillian Brien (Solidarity-People Before Profit)
Ciarán Cuffe (Green Party)
Clare Daly (Independents 4 Change)
Mark Durkan (Fine Gael)
Frances Fitzgerald (Fine Gael)
Gary Gannon (Social Democrats)
Ben Gilroy (Independent)
Rita Harrold (Solidarity-People Before Profit)
Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent)
Hermann Kelly (Independent)
Tony Bosco Lowth (Independent)
Aisling McNiffe (Independent)
Mark Mullan (Independent)
Eamonn Murphy (Independent)
Gemma O'Doherty (Independent)
Éilis Ryan (Workers Party)
Alex White (Labour Party)
MIDLANDS-NORTH-WEST
Cyril Brennan (Solidarity-People Before Profit)
Matt Carthy (Sinn Féin)
Peter Casey (Independent)
Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan (Independent)
Patrick Greene (Direct Democracy Ireland)
Dominic Hannigan (Labour Party)
Fidelma Healy Eames (Independent)
Mairead McGuinness (Fine Gael)
Saoirse McHugh (Green Party)
Dilip Mahapatra (Independent)
James Miller (Independent)
Diarmuid Mulcahy (Independent)
Olive O’Connor (Independent)
Michael O’Dowd (Renua Ireland)
Anne Rabbitte (Fianna Fáil)
Brendan Smith (Fianna Fáil)
Maria Walsh (Fine Gael)
SOUTH
Allan J Brennan (Independent)
Malcolm Byrne (Fianna Fáil)
Dolores J Cahill (Independent)
Deirdre Clune (Fine Gael)
Andrew Doyle (Fine Gael)
Paddy Fitzgerald (Independent)
Breda Patricia Gardner (Independent)
Theresa Heaney (Independent)
Billy Kelleher (Fianna Fáil)
Seán Kelly (Fine Gael)
Peter Madden (Independent)
Liam Minehan (Independent)
Liadh Ní Riada (Sinn Féin)
Sheila Nunan (Labour Party)
Diarmuid Patrick O'Flynn (Independent)
Peter O'Loughlin (Identity Ireland)
Grace O'Sullivan (Green Party)
Walter Ryan-Purcell (Independent)
Maurice Joseph Sexton (Independent)
Jan Van De Ven (Direct Democracy Ireland)
Adrienne Wallace (Solidarity-People Before Profit)
Mick Wallace (Independents 4 Change)
Colleen Worthington (Independent)
