Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

First, I want to let the officials know I am in my office in LH2000. I thank Dr. Reidy and Dr. Suiter for their thoughts on this legislation.

I welcome the Bill and the setting up of the electoral commission for several reasons. In the constituency I represent, Cork North Central, we have fierce variations in the number of people who vote. In some parts of the constituency, only 30% of people vote while in other areas, it is more than 71% vote. That comes down to the demographics of the areas. Those in more settled and affluent areas have a tendency to vote. In areas where there is disadvantage, deprivation, marginalised communities or much rental accommodation, fewer people vote. This Bill is vital to making it more possible for more people to vote. We need to make it easier for postal voting and opening polling stations earlier, for example. Voter registration, as it stands, is a shambles in certain areas.

People who have unfortunately been deceased for ten or 20 years are still on the register. People say to me that when they turn 18 they are cut off from children's allowance but not automatically registered to vote. The question of data sharing comes in then. The data commissioner will give us some insight into this. We know, from either a tax or a health point of view, when people turn 18. We need to make it possible for them to be automatically registered. This should also apply when people move. Many people are fed up with politics and do not want to engage. That is why we want to make it as easy as possible for them to register and be able to vote. Where is the best practice that the witnesses have seen for postal voting? Is this Bill doing enough to engage with people to ensure they vote?

Then there is the whole issue of education. We do a sample ballot paper in advance of elections because we find that many people still do not know how to vote. On young people particularly, I welcome the preregistration but early school leavers will miss out on that. What can we do to engage with those people?