Mr. John O'Dowd:

The electoral commission in New Zealand has subcontracted the maintenance of the register to that country's postal service so there is an international example in this regard.

On the Deputy's point regarding the structure of local government, it would be seeing the remit of the electoral commission as being rather too wide to say that it would be within its functions to review the scale and organisation of local authorities. It probably would be sensible to try to limit what it does to the electoral process itself. Perhaps it might review matters in a broad sense but not widely enough that it would be expected to advise the Government as to whether, for example, town councils should be reintroduced. It could, I suppose, express a view regarding the ratio of numbers of local representatives to numbers of citizens and there might be some incidental issues on which it might advise. However, the idea that it is some form of panacea for political reform generally is to be avoided.