Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)

Indeed, shame on them. The reality is that it was an exercise in real politics and the cynics who often criticise politicians castigated that practice but the situation has worsened since it ended.

There is a collective responsibility on us all as individual citizens to check the register and make sure our details are correct. There is also a clear role for public representatives to promote awareness of the register and the need for individual action. A high quality register of electors is essential for the successful operation of the electoral system and the democratic process. This campaign is an important opportunity for us all to work towards that objective.

I am also considering further measures, including updated guidance in the short-term, to assist and support registration authorities in fulfilling their role in the registration process. This is "genteel-speak" for saying I will encourage them to do their job better than they have been doing. However, we should not lose sight of the positive achievements made. For example, following years of steady decline, the percentage of the electorate who turned out at the latest polls held in June last year for the European and local elections and for the referendum on citizenship, reversed the downward trend. On average, the national turn-out rose from 51% to 59%, which is a good trend.

I noted considerable interest in the recommendation by the commission for the introduction of electronic voting for all elections here. I welcome its view that such a system is well worth introducing for the benefits it will bring. Sadly, there was not a debate on the benefits and whether electronic voting was a better system than the system we had. My Department is undertaking a programme of further assessment and testing of the electronic voting and counting system to address the issues raised by the Commission on Electronic Voting and to demonstrate that the system operates reliably, securely and accurately. I would be deluding myself if I suggested that this will be an easy job because we must rebuild confidence in the system. I doubt if we will use it before the 2007 election.

Furthermore, I welcome the call for greater emphasis on democracy and citizenship in education. My Department has been involved in a number of educational initiatives on this issue and contributed to the development of a transition year course on democracy which was piloted last year. With more courses like this available both at primary, and particularly at secondary level, I foresee a substantial improvement in participation. I agree with Deputy O'Malley that this is something we should take far more seriously.

I thank the members of the Democracy Commission for their tireless dedication to their task. As well as the many other pressures on their time and energy, this is a very worthwhile exercise. I am confident their work will provide a sound basis for further research and concrete actions to improve the democratic process. Above all, I hope it will contribute to a more mature and considered debate on issues and on the institutions and processes of democracy than has been the case in recent times.

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