Local Government (Ireland) Act 1919
| Year | 1919 |
Local Government (Ireland) Act, 1919
(9 & 10 Geo. 5.) CHAPTER 19.
An Act to amend further the Law relating to Local Government in Ireland and for other purposes connected therewith.
[3rd June 1919]
Be it enacted by the King's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
1 Proportional representation at local elections.
(1) At a contested election of members of a local authority for any local electoral area constituted under this Act, any election of the full number of members for the area shall be according to the principle of proportional representation, each elector having one transferable vote as defined in this Act.
(2) For the purpose of forming electoral areas suitable for the application of the principle aforesaid, the Local Government Board shall by Order divide the several counties, boroughs, urban and rural districts, poor law unions and towns into local electoral areas so as to constitute—
(a ) In every county, county electoral areas for the election of county councillors;
(b ) In every rural district, district electoral areas for the election of rural district councillors;
(c ) In every borough, borough electoral areas for the election of aldermen and councillors;
(d ) In every urban district, not being a borough, district electoral areas for the election of urban district councillors;
(e ) In so much of every union as is situated in an urban district, poor law electoral areas for the election of guardians; and
(f ) In every town, town electoral areas for the election of town commissioners:
Provided that any urban district or town or so much of any union as is situated in an urban district may be constituted a single urban, town, or poor law electoral area, as the case may be.
(3) The number of members to be elected for each local electoral area shall be such as may be assigned thereto by Order of the Local Government Board, and in constituting the local electoral areas and assigning members thereto the Board shall, so far as practicable, secure—
(a ) that the total number of members of any local authority other than a rural district council or board of guardians shall not be altered;
(b ) that the number of members of a rural district council or board of guardians be reduced by one half at least;
(c ) that the number of members assigned to the local electoral areas shall in each case be such as to give equal representation upon the basis of population;
(d ) that the number of members assigned to any local electoral area shall not be less than six in the ease of any borough electoral area and three in the case of any other local electoral area:
Provided that, if the council of any borough within the prescribed time submit to the Local Government Board a scheme for the division of the borough into borough electoral areas, and the assignment of members thereto, the Board shall, on being satisfied that the scheme has been published by the local authority in the prescribed manner, adopt the scheme except where and so far as they see good reason to the contrary.
(4) For the purposes of elections conducted according to the principle of proportional representation, the scale of election expenses fixed by any county council under Article 6 of the Schedule to the Local Government (Application of Enactments) Order, 1898, may be increased or otherwise altered by the Local Government Board, and as so altered shall have effect as if it had been made under that article by the county council with the approval of the Board.
(5) Except so far as is necessary for the purpose of forming local electoral areas, nothing in this section shall affect any existing district electoral divisions or wards, or the powers of the Local Government Board with respect thereto.
(6) The Local Government Board may by Order apply the provisions of this section with the necessary modifications to the election of the members of any kind of local body other than the local authorities mentioned in this section upon the application of the local body concerned.
2 Retirement of aldermen and certain councillors and town commissioners on next ordinary day of retirement.
2. On the ordinary day of retirement of aldermen, councillors, and commissioners in the year nineteen hundred and twenty all the aldermen and councillors for any borough and all the councillors for any other urban district, and all the commissioners for any town shall, notwithstanding any enactment to the contrary and notwithstanding any system of rotation in force, go out of office, and their places shall be filled by newly elected aldermen, councillors, and commissioners.
3 Triennial election of councillors and commissioners in certain urban districts and towns.
3. In every urban district not being a borough and in every town the councillors and commissioners shall all be elected triennially.
4 Triennial election of aldermen and councillors in boroughs.
(1) In every-borough the term of office of an alderman shall be three years, and, subject to the provisions of this section, the aldermen and councillors shall all be elected together triennially and shall retire together.
(2) At any election of the full number of aldermen and councillors for any borough electoral area the number of candidates to be elected shall be the aggregate of the number of aldermen and number of councillors assigned to the area, and, where a poll is taken, the first and every other candidate successively declared to be elected until the number of aldermen for the area is completed shall be alderman or aldermen for the area, and the remaining candidates declared to be elected shall be the councillors for the area.
(3) If there is no poll at any such election, such of the elected candidates for the borough electoral area as may be determined by the borough council shall be alderman or aldermen, and the remaining elected candidates shall be councillors for the borough electoral area,...
To continue reading
Request your trial