Charlie McCreevy (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)

Regarding the security of the voting machines and the protocols surrounding the election, the Department has introduced rigorous procedures for secure storage and maintenance throughout polling.

On foot of a comprehensive security assessment, which was undertaken on behalf of the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government by Zerflow Information Security, several additional measures were introduced following the initial pilot elections to address any concerns regarding access to the system. Seals will be placed over the ballot modules in the voting machines and the ballot papers will be locked in the display with access only by the returning officer. Once the voting machines are formally tested to ensure that the correct data has been loaded onto it and that all the buttons work, the voting machine will be sealed to ensure that no unauthorised access is permitted. Following these improvements, Zerflow has confirmed that its concerns have all been satisfactorily addressed. The Opposition loves to quote the first Zerflow report, but lacks the good grace to acknowledge that these concerns have been addressed.

In addition to the six independent companies which carried out the broad range of tests on the voting hardware and software and all security procedures and aspects of the system, the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government is working closely with returning officers to ensure stringent security and procedural safeguards.

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