Mary Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for the work they have done to get the legislation through. This has been far too long coming so it is good we are having this discussion. It is an enormous responsibility. All around the world democracy is being rivalled by autocracy. Here, our democracy is under attack on a daily basis. I do not think any of us should be blasé about this. We need to take the threat seriously. The responsibility on the members of the electoral commission to protect our democracy and ensure it stands up to serve our State is enormous.

The contributions we had in the discussion so far about the campaigning elements, postering and online activity are important. I guess we will wait for amendments Nos. 4 and 5 and we will return to that discussion.

The integrity of the ballot box and what goes into it and what comes out of it is important. The register of electors is what supposedly determines what goes into the box. There are 31 county councils, so there are 31 registers of electors. Of that, there are various categories of electors. From the commission's perspective, it will have the task of increasing voter participation. That is a laudable task. Some voter participation is more valuable than others, but the integrity of voter participation is important. Of the 31 registers of electors, what analysis has been done of them to determine their veracity and integrity? From this analysis, increased voter participation can be measured.

We discussed the operation of the polling stations when the legislation was going through. The polling stations are manned by presiding officers, appointed by the county sheriff. What are the qualifications required for the officers who operate the polling stations?