Dr. Theresa Reidy:

I will speak about the electoral register and then I will let Dr. Suiter come in. It is not unusual to have a relatively modest sized electoral management board that works in tandem with a network of local authorities managing electoral registers. That is a pretty common model internationally - in fact, our nearest neighbour, the UK, operates along those lines. One of the difficulties with the register at present is that we know it is significantly over estimated in some areas but then quite under estimated in other areas. In urban communities, in particular, we think there are far fewer people on the register than there should be. Part of the reason for this is that there are no overarching guidelines, structures or requirements that local authorities have to adhere to. One of the strengths of this Bill is that it changes that. It puts in place a set of guidelines, reporting requirements and policies and procedures that local authorities will have to adhere to. That is a step in the right direction.

We also need to look at the evolution of how voter registration is potentially going to develop in the future. One would expect that the balance of registration will move towards online registration. We will probably see much more of that, particularly if there is a referendum on external voting rights for emigrants. This is going to change how we deal with voter registration. It will require significant policy development which will have to be managed at a national level and then filtered down.

We must remember that we need to keep electoral expertise on the ground in terms of the organisation of polling. That is one of the strengths of our system. In the audits of electoral procedures in Ireland, we know that works very well. The processes of organising polling and counting is done very efficiently and effectively. To some extent, it makes a degree of sense to have franchise expertise at local level. We will need to maintain some of that to consolidate this in the area of voter registration as well. This comes back to Dr. Suiter's point as to what role the electoral commission will play in oversight. As the Bill is currently written, annual reports will go to the Minister and only after a period of time will they go to the electoral commission, once that part of the Act is commenced.

There are also questions about when the electoral commission will begin to get oversight and the ability to inform policy. Under head 80, reference is made to how the electoral commission can undertake research on electoral registers and the processes but it is not clear at what point that will begin. It is also not clear whether it will have the ability to inform and shape the procedures that are currently written into the Bill, particularly in relation to postal voting. Should the referendum be passed, the registration requirements are going to change significantly. The idea of having local authorities still involved is a good one because there are strengths in that but the issues of oversight and ensuring that that purpose can grow and develop and be evaluated and analysed needs to be teased out a bit more.