Terry Brennan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As I do not want to be repetitive I will leave out some of the points I raised during the Seanad debate. On average, 40% of those on the electoral register, four out of ten people, do not exercise their democratic right.

In fact, the figure has gone above four out of ten in recent years. This is an issue that must be addressed. I am aware of families where neither parent has ever exercised his or her vote. We should consider putting in place a mechanism, as some other countries have, for removing persons from the electoral register who do not avail of their vote on two or three occasions. It is wrong not to exercise one's right to vote. On the other hand, there are cases where people who have left home to live abroad and rear their families, in the United State, London, Glasgow and many other places, but opt to remain on the electoral register. When I questioned one such family about it, the reason I was given was that they come home on holiday for two or three weeks every year and if that holiday coincides with an election, they wish to be able to vote. That is not right.

Other speakers referred to the importance of maintaining proper voting records. When one presents at a polling station, one's name is crossed out on the register and, at the end of the day, it is possible to tot up the number of registered persons who actually voted. An electronic record should be kept of the names of those who exercise their vote. On one occasion I attended a hearing on applications to be included on the supplementary register and I happened to ask the official whether one particular applicant was a tall, curly-haired man. When this was confirmed, it became clear that the same man was on different registers in the one town and was voting at polling stations across the road from each other on the same day. Deputy Bannon referred to the situation in Northern Ireland. I overheard a conversation in a club six or seven years ago which revealed that the same individual to whom I just referred had voted 11 times at polling stations across the Border. I assure colleagues that he was not voting for Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael or the Labour Party. It seems he went around all day, from Newry to Ballymena, casting his 11 votes and taking pride in doing so. The system is not right on the other side of the Border, no more than it is here. People must take responsibility in this matter, but it is also paramount that we eliminate possible abuses, whether by way of PPS numbers or some other means. That must be given serious consideration. If such abuses have gone on in the past, they will continue into the future.

Having listened to the Minister speaking in the Seanad, it is clear he is passionate about reform. I wish him well in the task and hope it will not take four years to complete the process.