Steven Matthews (Wicklow, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Fitzpatrick. I thank Mr. O'Leary and his team for their contributions and Mr. Ryan and his team for their assistance to us. The committee would be really interested in continued engagement with the Electoral Commission, especially after it has assessed the consultations to the draft strategy and produced the final strategy. The fact that we have created this independent commission indicates how much we value and understand the importance of having democracy. We sometimes forget that in other countries, they do not have a democracy. They do not get to choose how to vote. Their politics, where it exists, is interfered with and in some cases, people do not get the right to criticise governments or those who have been elected. We should always value and protect that democracy as much as we possibly can.