Mr. Enda Falvey:

I take on board the points made about the register, which is a perennially difficult subject. The register has been in place for a long time and has both good points and bad. Members have articulated quite well a lot of the bad points. There is body of work that could be done to improve the register. That issue is on the agenda all the time. It is a case of having sufficient time and space to take on such a big project as would be entailed in the amendment of the register, but it is a project that would be worth doing. Some work has been done at local authority level. Reference was made to Dublin City Council. The Dublin authorities have been working on an electoral register improvement project, about which members might have heard. They are trying to move away from the current system. The intention is to use the best of technology to modernise it. They will trial run some of it in parallel with existing arrangements. A business case is in mind to see whether it could be used in other local authorities also. That work is ongoing underneath the surface and will bubble up eventually. Projects on the register will be undertaken as resources and priorities are determined by the Government.