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

However, there is a contracted helicopter service to the island. In the great national scheme of things, therefore, the expense to get the boxes in is not that huge. Obviously, a helicopter will guarantee that, whatever the weather, one will get them in when one wants them and certainly if the Government proposes a later arrival time.

Ms Ní Fhlanghaile raised an issue of concern to me, which is one would have to ensure there was no abuse of the issue. When I drafted the Bill I left in the provision in regard to short day polling. Some islands with very small populations have polling stations on them, such as Inishfree and Gola in Donegal. There is no such equivalent in Galway. Inishbiggle has a polling station but it is very close to the mainland and there is no problem getting to or from it no matter what the weather conditions are. Islands with polling stations have short day polling. However, we would not like to have short day polling in places such as the Aran Islands or Inishbofin where there is a considerable population and a large number of those eligible to vote are likely to arrive on the evening boat, just as in rural constituencies around the country people who work or study in Dublin, Limerick or elsewhere want to vote in their home constituency and therefore do not transfer their vote but go home to vote on the day. That is why Friday voting is now common. There would have to be some control on returning officers not getting us out of one hole and into another by swapping pre-day polling for short day polling on the more populated islands. Some sort of control would be needed in that regard. I have left in the principle because on some of the very small islands one could have 100% of polling completed by 11 a.m. and a returning officer would thereafter be sitting there for hours with nothing to do. The reason for the ability to make the regulation is that there would be no possibility of a decision-----