Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

That is a fair question and it is one that has been raised previously. I referred to what has been happening in Cork for many years and that there has been no mishap. All the islands off Cork are very near the mainland, except Cape Clear, but it is as far from the mainland as many other islands. That island would not have the quality of boats that some of the Aran Islands would have. Cork has done this successfully and there has been no mishap. If we consider the Donegal islands, the last time there was an election, voting took place on the day prior to polling day. On islands such as Gola and Inishfree, which have very small populations, there is a provision in the legislation, which I am not proposing should be removed, to have a short day of voting, where one could only vote for three or four hours. On the bigger islands, the timing on the day of voting is the same as on the mainland. The ballot boxes were ferried to the mainland by helicopter. It was the Air Corps that did the needful. If weather conditions got so bad that the Air Corps could not fly, and a similar problem could arise in the event of very bad snow with some ballot boxes in County Wicklow in Deputy Casey's constituency, there would be more disruption in the country than with respect to ballot boxes. It is extraordinary the way in which services to the islands have improved. There is also the backup of a helicopter in the event of very extreme weather conditions.