European Elections
From Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage
Published on
Last updated on
The European Parliament is elected to promote the interests of the citizens of the European Union. It has legislative, budgetary and supervisory powers through which it plays an important part in the EU legislative process, in shaping the annual EU budget and in the supervision of the economy.
Direct elections to the European Parliament are held every five years. Elections take place within a four day period, normally in May or June, throughout the European Union. The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage makes an order setting the day and the hours for polling, which must be at least 12 hours between 7am and 10.30pm.
The State is divided into three constituencies for European elections:
The constituencies are set out in the European Parliament Elections (Amendment) Act 2014.
European Elections were held in Ireland on Friday 23 May 2014. Eleven MEPs were elected in the three constituencies for the 2014 – 2019 parliamentary term.
The election results, collated and published by the department are available at 2014 European Parliament Election Results.
Rules for expenditure at European elections, and a limit to expenditure by candidates are provided for in the Electoral Act 1997.
Please see the Standards in Public Office website for further information.
Please see the Standards in Public Office website for further information.