Pat Gallagher (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)

They are relevant to the old system but not to the Bill. If the Deputy bears with me, we can address issues such as the implications of the Kelly judgment for the forthcoming European elections, to which Deputy Gilmore referred. Deputies will recall that the judgment found that two elementsof paragraph 2 of the Schedule were unconstitutional. The judgment will apply to expenditure by candidates at the June elections. While legislation is not necessary to give effect to the judgment, the Standards in Public Office Commission will issue guidelines to deal with it. I am certain that access to resources from public funds will have to be taken into consideration in the spending limits.

On the question of the dual mandate for the European Parliament, which was raised by a number of Deputies, a derogation was given to the United Kingdom to deal with the position in Northern Ireland and to Ireland until 2009. This will mean that from that year onwards anyone who holds an Oireachtas seat and is elected to the European Parliament will have to forfeit one of his or her seats immediately. The derogation is limited to two or three years, depending on the date of the election, when the full ending of the dual mandate between Members of the Oireachtas and the European Parliament will apply.

We are confident we will be able to extend electronic voting. While no one can be sure of or can second-guess what the courts may decide, we believe the section will withstand any legal challenge and will not require primary legislation.

I have read the Comptroller and Auditor General's letter and Deputy Gilmore's press release. The Comptroller and Auditor General was correct to state the system should be tested, which is exactly what has been happening in recent years. The debate on electronic voting did not start tonight, last week or last year, but has been ongoing for several years.

Deputy Gilmore raised the issue of opposition to the electronic voting system. Why did this level of opposition not arise during the debate on the Electoral Amendment Bill 2001? I remind Opposition Deputies that former Deputy Dukes as well as Deputy Olivia Mitchell and Senator Bradford have expressed support for electronic voting. If we were in the position that we did not have the experience gathered in three constituencies in the previous general election and seven constituencies in the Nice treaty referendum, legitimate questions could be raised about the system.

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