Courts / Galway / Report

Voter refused local election ballot wins race bias claim

Date
2025-12-10

Stage
Hearing Or Decision

Primary locality
Galway

County
Galway

Summary

A tribunal has ruled that a Portuguese man suffered racial discrimination when polling staff refused to give him a ballot for the local elections in Co Galway. The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) upheld a complaint of discrimination under the Equal Status Act 2000 against the returning officer for Co Galway. The tribunal ordered extra training for polling station staff after both Mr da Silva and his wife were told they did not have the right to vote in the local elections, despite living in Ireland for decades. Mr da Silva, a Portuguese national resident in Ireland for 30 years, was told by a poll official that he was only entitled to vote in the European elections. He was surprised and felt embarrassed, as if he had done something wrong. His wife, Maria de Almeida Silva, was also told she was not entitled to vote in the local elections but was later allowed to vote after challenging the poll clerk.