Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

That suggestion makes sense, particularly if there is a guaranteed service and if alternatives are provided in the event of ferry sailings being disrupted. It is important that people can vote and my preference would be for elections to be held at weekends. If people cannot be facilitated on Saturdays, then at the very least they should be able to vote on Friday evenings. A hell of a lot of people from rural areas and the islands - where the situation is even more pronounced - work elsewhere and travel home at weekends. As a result, we should do everything possible to ensure that the maximum number of people can vote in elections while at the same time maintaining the integrity of the voting process. We should not wait until the day an election is called to write to returning officers. I would like to hear the view of the respective returning officers from the relevant counties. It would be interesting to hear what they have to say about the matter and it would be nice to hear their views now.