M J Nolan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)

Members on all sides of the House welcomed the introduction of the Electoral (Amendment) Act 2001, the provisions of which allowed for the introduction of electronic voting. However, there has been a sea change in the past few weeks with the main Opposition parties now casting some doubts on the safety and security of electronic voting.

The fundamental purpose of this proposal is to improve the efficiency, speed, accuracy and user-friendliness of elections and to eliminate the waste associated with spoiled votes. It is not just about improving technology. By modernising and transforming elections in a visible way, the opportunity is created to tackle voter apathy and to improve the image of elections, particularly among young voters who are staying away in droves from casting their votes.

In introducing electronic voting, the Government has brought in a system of proven performance. The system chosen has enjoyed the advantage of widescale and successful use at national and local elections in the Netherlands over many years. It was more recently employed in some German municipal elections and it is now being introduced in France. Surely if some of the most sophisticated societies in the world have confidence in this system, there is no reason we should not be confident to use it here.

I am sure you, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle, remember what happened in our constituency not too long ago when a complete ballot box was mislaid. Only for the fact that it was the third day of a recount, who knows if that box would have come to the notice of the public and, more importantly, the candidates. If we were proposing to change from electronic to manual voting, I can imagine the outcry from certain quarters. They would be talking about the volumes of paper which would have to be counted and transferred overnight from various locations and about the safety and integrity of counters in the counting halls and centres. The Government's proposal is correct and timely.

The new voting system was extensively piloted at the 2002 general election and in the last Nice treaty referendum. The reaction of users has been overwhelmingly positive. No significant complaints were made about it by the candidates or by those using it. All best technologies embrace the principle of continuous improvement. The Government is committed to the continuous improvement of the electronic voting system. The Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and the Government are working on changes to the presentation of results. Some improvements are necessary in that area, given what we saw at the last general election. The Government has modified the voting machines to make them more user-friendly and accessible. It has also subjected and continues to subject the system's software and hardware to rigorous testing by a range of independent agencies.

I welcome the Government's initiative today to establish an independent panel to verify the secrecy and accuracy of the arrangements proposed for electronic voting. The Government completely understands and agrees with the need to ensure the utmost confidence in our electoral system. I hope the Opposition recognises that by doing that, the Government is going some way towards addressing many of the concerns raised by those people who expressed reservations about electronic voting. However, the approach seems to be one of political point-scoring and of deliberately undermining the widespread public acceptance which electronic voting has built up in seven constituencies where it has been piloted. Some doubts were expressed about the adoption of primary legislation by ministerial order. I, therefore, welcome the fact that the Government is introducing legislation to eliminate legal doubts about the application of electronic voting in the forthcoming local and European elections.

We cannot forget the considerable imperfections of the old ballot paper system, which typically wasted more than 1% of votes cast through spoiled votes. The feelings of assurance and validation, which some claim for the paper ballot process, were not, at least for some voters, justifiable. The manual count was also subject to errors and risks. Many colleagues in all parties in this House had to suffer long, nail-biting counts for results which often hinged on a small number of spoiled votes. I am sure many of us will be glad to see the end of those days. For those reasons, I am confident the electronic system will prove an easier, quicker and more accessible and accurate voting system for the people. I support the Government's amendment.

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