260. Deputy Eoin Hayes asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when section 5 of the Electoral Act 2022 will be commenced; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54025/26]

Part 5 of the Electoral Reform Act 2022 is intended to protect the integrity of Ireland's elections against online misinformation, online disinformation and online inauthentic / manipulative behaviour.  The provisions of Part 5 were formally notified in draft form to the European Commission in accordance with the notification requirements of Article 5 of Directive (EU) 2015/1535 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 September 2015 laying down a procedure for the provision of information in the field of technical regulations and of rules on Information Society services.

The notification procedure, which is known as the Technical Regulation Information System (or TRIS)  enables the European Commission and Member States to examine draft legislation before it enters into force in order to identify and prevent the creation of barriers to trade in the internal market before they materialise.

On 31 August 2022, the European Commission raised a number of concerns with regard to the compatibility of Part 5 with Articles 14 and 15 of Directive 2000/31/EC (i.e. the e-Commerce Directive).  In light of these concerns, draft proposals to amend the provisions of Part 5 were submitted by my Department under the TRIS notification procedure.  The European Commission has issued a detailed opinion on these draft proposals citing that the proposed amendments were not fully aligned with the provisions of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 October 2022 on a single market for digital services and amending Directive 2000/31/EC (i.e. the Digital Services Act) which came into effect on 17 February 2024.

Revised amendments to Part 5 are currently being considered in light of the detailed opinion issued by the European Commission. Further consultation with the European Commission is anticipated before the proposed amendments are finalised.