James Bannon (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The electoral commission would fill a great void created by the decentralised multi-agency approach to the register that is taking place at present. I presume the commission will be totally independent of Departments, etc., and will have its own staff independent of Government as well.

The local authorities located throughout the country have done their best to maintain the register but its care is not within their remit. The task has placed an undue burden on resources and staff, particularly in smaller local authorities and where the rate base is very low as in counties Leitrim and Longford. Local authorities do not have the staff to compile the register. This matter should be looked at on a roll-on basis rather than having a new register every year. I hope that will be a function of the new commission.

The register has been woefully neglected. Has the Minister looked at the electoral system used in Northern Ireland? It was introduced 30 years ago and has proved successful. In that jurisdiction there is an onus on people to register and for young people to register a year before they are due to vote. There has been an uptake of between 80% and 90% in Northern Ireland. A cost may be involved. Does the Minister know how much it would cost to set up an electoral office in the Republic? I would like to know how much this whole exercise will cost.

E-voting was very contentious in this country and was introduced by the previous Government. Is there a proposal to return to e-voting? The initiative has worked successfully in Australia and other countries in the southern hemisphere. Have we looked at their systems and at how they work? I have been told that Australia is leading the way as a model of good practice for an e-voting system. Will compulsory voting be introduced in this country at some future date? It has been introduced in some parts of the world. It is important, going forward, that we foster integrity and public confidence in a new system.

I have outlined a few issues. I am sure everyone will have an opportunity to make a submission on the establishment of an electoral commission. For a long time I have felt that we needed a single body to improve the current electoral system. I hope that when the new system is introduced it will comprise a rolling register because it makes no sense to start the register from scratch every year. The reason people who have been on a register for 50 or 60 years have often found themselves omitted from voting when they arrive at a polling booth is because the current system starts from scratch each year.

Does the Minister envisage that the electoral commission will take over control of electoral expenditure from the Standards in Public Office Commission? Will the new electoral commission take over the function? There is a body in place to do such work at present. Will the electoral commission be given responsibility for such a task? Will it be given responsibility to examine electoral spending issues? Such matters are currently addressed by the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government or the Standards in Public Office Commission.