Professor Eilionóir Flynn:

I thank the Deputy for her questions. These are valuable contributions to the work we are all doing in this area. On collaboration, as researchers, we see ourselves as a resource for the Electoral Commission and Departments, especially the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage because we have ideas and examples from other jurisdictions, as Dr. Price mentioned, of how things could be organised in a different way.

On the timeframe, Mr. O'Leary already has mentioned the upcoming presidential election, so the time to start acting on this is now. It was yesterday, but it is also now. For forthcoming elections beyond the presidential election, thinking about the structures and regulations that govern them will take time. We did not set a timeframe in our research as to when these things should be addressed but we are here as a resource and are wiling to work with all the stakeholders in this field to ensure that we can help to develop more practical solutions that can increase the level of participation of disabled people, not just in voting, but also in standing for election, which was the focus of our research.