Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Mr. Falvey and Mr. Deering. Having listened to them, the first thing one could say is that it is now very easy to get offended or indignant in the ballot box. One can build up a head of steam.

I shall not feel embarrassed about doing so anymore having listened to what has been said about people getting annoyed.

A point was made about seeing the information or question for the first time. Is there a way to get around the matter? A referendum is not like a local, general or European election where one can clearly vote for people and parties and one has sight of what one votes for. The general rule of thumb, down through the years, has been that when the question is put,that the Government favours a "Yes" vote. Therefore, if one supports the Government then the decision is simple and one votes "Yes". However, if one does not support the Government then one can vote "No". I am being very simplistic about the matter but a lot of people would say "This is what such a party is saying yet I belong to another party or no party" and vote accordingly.

The research remains unclear to me even though the delegation talked about what happened in Britain and what will happen in Scotland. I also worry about holding a number of referenda on one day which has happened a lot in recent times. From what we have heard from the Constitutional Convention there may be a proposal to hold a multi-referenda one day between now and the next general election. I would like to hear the views of the delegation on the matter. For the children's referendum we had one question on one day so the process was a bit more clear.

Reference was made to the design of the ballot paper but I am not sure what it was based on. There has been talk for years of having a circular ballot paper for a general or local election. I am not sure how its design can help the matter. I would like to know the views of the delegation on all of the issues I raised.