Dr. Jane Suiter:

That speaks to the Deputy's question on what the options are. The gold standard of these is a panel study, which is what we had from 2002 to 2007. We would start off with several thousand people and follow some of those same people over the five years. By doing so, we get to see how people are changing at an individual level. If a panel study was to be done, in year one an election study might cost between €250,000 and €300,000 and then one would have an annual cost of about €100,000. A referendum study might cost between €120,000 and €150,000 to do really well. There are a number of moving parts but those are the ballpark figures.

To reiterate what Mr. Farrell and Dr. Reidy said, for much of the time we have had to piggyback on RTÉ exit polls. Naturally, an exit poll gets canvassers from Red C to stand outside various polling stations. By definition, the canvassers can only capture people who have just walked out of a polling station. This means the views of all those who did not make it to the polling station are never asked and we do not know anything about them. Not only do we not know why they did not turn up, but we do not know anything else about them. These are the people who are most dissatisfied with democracy and it is very important that we understand more about them. That is why it is really important to have an election study, rather than just piggybacking on exit polls. That is a crucial point.

We are agnostic about where the money comes from. An electoral commission might be the right place but an electoral commission is an Irish perennial. I know the Oireachtas is discussing legislation on an electoral commission but when will it come into being? I am reluctant to say this should definitely be put through an electoral commission because who knows when that will happen. Maybe that is where it should be based in the long term but in the short term, for the next general election, the Department should fund this in advance of an electoral commission being set up. It would be great if this was done through the Irish Research Council but that would be hard to do because we simply do not know when elections and referendums will be held, as members are well aware. The Department should have a funding line for this research until the electoral commission is established.

On the questions asked, there is considerable best practice available. One wants to make sure questions are asked in a way that do not try to lead people to give certain answers. Members know that if a big brand was asking a question, the survey answers always come out in a way that favours the brand. We have to be highly scientific and particular about that and follow the way questions are asked internationally and the way we have asked them previously in order that we can make comparisons. There is absolutely no reason there should not be wider consultation about the kinds of questions asked. If the committee wanted to be involved in terms of the kind of issues on which questions would be asked, there would be no reason we would not engage in that kind of way. The actual wording of the question would obviously have to come down to scientific best practice and so on. However, there is no reason input into the questions should not be wider than it has been in the past.

What is important is that this is about our democracy and everybody and outside of this room has a stake in that. We all want to understand where the people are and why Ireland has been so successful. Why are we one of the few countries without a radical right-wing populist party when we see this happening elsewhere? We do not completely understand why that is the case but we need to understand the reasons for it if we are to ensure it does not happen. Everybody has a stake in that and having a broader study is very important in helping us to understand the state of our politics and what people are doing. In the meantime, the Department has to own the budget. If that were the case, it might even be in place before the next election, whenever that is, but it should be in place before that. I am sure an electoral commission will not be in place before the next election.