Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank Ms Ní Fhlanghaile for coming in and making her submission. As Deputy Ó Cuív said, the extension of the provisions to European and local elections is eminently sensible and nobody would oppose that. Being able to start opening some boxes while others are delayed would not materially affect the count and we would have no difficulty with that. It may delay the tally a little but that can be caught up with once the boxes arrive, if they do.

My one concern is in regard to the shorter polling day. The aim of the Bill is to give those on the islands the same entitlements and period of time to vote as everybody else. Even if that means a possibility of delays in the result of the count, I would prefer that than to have even one or two voters excluded because of an earlier close of polling. I support some regulation, whether through this legislation or elsewhere, that would create conditions as to when returning officers can do that, if such regulations do not already exist.