Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

We have read both the submissions and I appreciate them very much. I just have a few questions. I will go to the Department first and just touch on these issues in a block and then the witnesses can respond accordingly. We have had the Electoral Act and this committee has been hugely involved in the Bill. There was a lot of engagement and public consultation on a wide variety of issues, which the witnesses will all be aware of, so there is no point talking any further about that. The legislation that was introduced dealt with the form of an identity check for all new applicants and those updating the register with PPS numbers. Some people would have concerns about that. I personally do not have any concerns but that was an issue. I presume that is for people coming onto the register and not people who are already on the existing register. I do see some advertisements, which are good, saying that everyone needs to check the register and update the register. That is not a bad thing because some people fall off the register for all sorts of reasons historically. That is important. The witnesses might give some reassurances around all of that, including on PPSNs.

The pre-registration to vote is excellent. It is not what I personally would like. I would have liked to have gone further but that is not a matter for me. When is that going to kick in? I presume the witnesses are trying to trap those young 16 and 17-year-olds on the registration. That is a positive thing.

Something that got lost in a lot of our debate, and has been mentioned here, is how we are going to engage with people with no address. They are significant players in terms of a whole load of other social concerns and a whole load of other demographics. The witnesses might touch on how they are going to deal with that.

Regarding the electoral reform Act, Part 1 and Part 5 have not been commenced. That is significant. They are very significant parts of this legislation. I do not know how all of that is going in terms of engagement with the Ministers in the Department. What is the delay? There was some suggestion that there are EU Commission issues with that.

I will now go to the Electoral Commission. I commend the commission on its graphics. It is not all about graphics and pictures and publications but the content also and both get full marks. It is an easy document to read. It is attractive. It sets a very high bar for the beginning of what the commission is about and I think it is worth commending it on that. I also notice that its electoral boundaries reports are highly impressive. Those are two pieces of feedback I wanted to give.

We had a meeting with local media, including radio, local papers and provincial papers and they singled out the commission for not taking one single ad in any provincial or local paper so far. I know it is early days but I thought that was an important point to make. They illustrated the coverage in the national papers. Indeed, they photocopied those ads and gave us statistics on that. While the commission does not have a mandate to support local papers, it is important because local papers and local radio are very closely connected with local communities. It is another cohort of people it might not always get exposure to. The witnesses might just bear that in mind.

The public consultation and feedback, the questions asked and the key issues raised, is brilliant. The closing date is 12 January. I would suggest the commission engage in another round of publicity to highlight that. We are now falling into Christmas. We clearly want people engaging for this to be a success. I ask that the commission might look at whatever medium it decides to use - that is a matter for the witnesses - because it is important that we continue to keep that high level of engagement and the only way to do that is to tap in locally. Those are just a few points. Maybe the Department could start with replies.