Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity)
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I will focus on one issue, albeit there are a lot of issues here. It is the one on which we had the group in to discuss earlier. The group was making the case for what was described as a permanent democratic audit process. I support strongly what was argued for. The example was given of European countries such as Finland, Austria and Switzerland, which provide permanent funding for research and surveying of election results, referendum results, social attitudes among those who do not vote and so on. I am convinced that this would be beneficial for Irish society. If funding is not provided for that, it will be done by private organisations like corporate media and large political parties and will not be available to the mass of the people. There is a democratic issue there. From the information provided earlier, it appears this can be done for relatively small sums. It is something we should prioritise to get in line with best international practice. It is something in respect of which we should make funding provision on an annualised basis. There are some details to work out as to exactly how to do it but the principle is something I support strongly and it is a point I want to register in this discussion. There are other points I would like to make about the register, but I will leave it at that.