Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)

The proposals of the constituency commission encompassed in the European Parliament Election (Amendment) Bill 2003 are not in the best interest of the electorate. It is unfortunate that this Bill is before the House.

Sinn Féin opposed the Nice treaty which brought about a reduction in the number of MEPs representing the State and necessitated the introduction of the amendments to the European Parliament Elections Act 1993 addressed in the Bill. The reduction in the number of MEPs is regrettable because it will further increase the void between the electorate and their elected representatives, which is particularly marked in regard to the European Parliament with which the public does not identify.

My primary concern about the Bill is that it continues the move away from larger constituencies, towards three-seat constituencies. The steady growth in the number of three-seat constituencies at both Dáil and EU level is in contradiction to the original intention and the main purpose of a proportional representation, single transferable vote, PRSTV, system. When originally developed, the proportional representation system with multi-seat constituencies was envisaged as a positive one which accommodated minorities. In the 1920s, nine and seven-seat Dáil constituencies existed. In the coming European election, we will have one four-seat constituency and three three-seat constituencies. For general election purposes we have 18 three-seat constituencies, 13 four-seat constituencies and 12 five-seat constituencies.

The PRSTV system has been diluted substantially through the selective redrawing of constituency boundaries, such as that contained in the Bill and the reduction in constituency size in terms of Members elected from nine and seven-seat constituencies to five, four and three-seaters. The constituency commission was constrained by legislation, introduced by the establishment parties to serve their own purposes, to have constituency sizes of between three and five seats. This does nothing to further attempts to allow for the widest possible representation.

Sinn Féin made a comprehensive submission to the constituencies commission in regard to the European Parliament elections. I reiterate a number of points made in that submission. The criteria for an electoral system should allow for the election of a true representation of all groups in society. The decline in voter participation throughout Ireland makes this increasingly difficult. It is particularly marked in the Twenty-six Counties where a recent Central Statistics Office survey showed that voter abstention is highest among young people. This must be addressed as a matter of urgency. Our suggestions included automatic registration of those eligible to vote.

Sinn Féin's submission proposed that the potential to develop an all-Ireland aspect to these elections be seized, that the whole island be considered as one EU constituency electing members under a closed PR list system. This would offer the most proportional outcome possible and could help ensure the previously outlined objectives of a fair electoral system, reducing the barriers to minority groups and maximising electoral participation, while ensuring parliamentary diversity. For the first time, we would have a system where vote share translates equitably into seat shares for the entire island.

Voters throughout Ireland will go to the polls for the EU elections and the EU already treats the island as a single entity in many aspects of its work, especially in terms of the CAP, the Common Fisheries Policy and the distribution of funding under the Peace and Reconciliation Programme. It makes sense that an island-wide approach to the European parliamentary elections be considered.

Recognising that this may be difficult to achieve in the short term, we proposed an alternative to the commission, that the Twenty-six Counties be treated as one constituency administered under the PR list system and at a later date, the Six Counties could be included in this constituency. This could operate as a simple closed system where voters could accept the party candidate list as a given or the system could allow for internal choice within a party vote.

Sinn Féin believes that a fully functioning representative electoral system is an imperative in modern society, where an ever-increasing amount of vested interests compete to influence the policy formulation and decision-taking process at national and international fora. God knows we have seen enough of that in this State recently. We favour a system that reduces barriers to smaller parties and minorities, that maximises electoral participation and ensures parliamentary diversity. We want a system where vote share translates equitably into seat shares.

EU elections could be used to try out more proportional democratic electoral systems and increase voter participation as well as broaden the electoral spectrum to one that would be truly representative of Irish society. In mutating the PRSTV system through the creation of three-seat constituencies, the Bill does not achieve this goal.

Sinn Féin supported the ending of the dual mandate between local government and the Dáil. We also support the ending of the dual mandate between Leinster House and the European Parliament. Both Parliaments will be better served by the separation of the roles of TDs and MEPs. It will allow elected Members to devote their full attention to one elected body and will facilitate better governance at Dáil and European levels. The ending of the dual mandate should be brought about immediately. I ask the Minister to outline the reason this is being delayed until the next Dáil election. I see no reason for this.

I also wish to comment briefly on the introduction of electronic voting which will be used in most constituencies for the first time in the coming European and local elections. There is widespread concern regarding the system of electronic voting introduced in this State.

Margaret McGaley and Paul Gibson of the computer science department in NUI, Maynooth, published a study called, Electronic Voting: A Safety Critical System, which concluded, "While an adequate electronic voting system is possible, the current proposal is not it." Zerflow, which carried out a security assessment on behalf of the Department, also pointed out some serious flaws in the system.

Sinn Féin is supportive of the idea of electronic voting using a kiosk-type system. However, we are calling for all source code and design to be publicly available for inspection by citizens, especially computer science experts. We also call for the Mercuri method to be applied. Under this, a paper copy of the vote, verified by the voter, is held for the purpose of independent recount and for parallel manual counting to be used for a period so voter confidence is enhanced and for systems to be truly tested. If electronic voting is to gain public confidence, the serious concerns about the system being introduced in this State must be addressed as a matter of urgency.

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