Paudge Connolly (Cavan-Monaghan, Independent)

In states that did not have the franchise people walked for days and queued in the sun to win votes. A referendum in 1972 reduced the voting age here from 21 to 18 years.

We should consider introducing Sunday voting. It has proved successful elsewhere so why not adopt it here? If we persist in holding elections on a Friday one central electoral station should be designated in each major university city, such as Galway, Cork or Dublin, to facilitate students on the day of the election. When students return home on a bus or train on a Friday evening they are not thinking about the election. They may have family, sporting or social commitments. They are tired after a hard week's work and look forward to socialising when they come home at the weekends.

No debate on electoral reform would be complete without a reference to the electronic voting system. The mishandling of its introduction was such that people will shy away from using the system. Equipment worth €50 million is in storage and continues to cost us money. We should revisit that process.

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