Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)

I support the Bill proposed by Deputy Gilmore to deal with a problem which has been ongoing for many years. Unless it is decided that this situation is not acceptable to any party in this House, it will be taken that the Minister agrees with the current mix and with leaving it in place for the next general election.

This is the first occasion since I came to this House that I have seen such unanimous support for a proposal but it is clear that the Government parties will vote against it. No speaker during this debate spoke against action being taken. The Minister stated in the House that the electoral register is inaccurate by 25%. It is very difficult to understand how a Minister could say that 25% of the population of the country cannot vote when he should be acting on behalf of the people. His efforts to rectify the problem are pathetic.

He spoke about the local authorities making a difference. In fairness to Kildare County Council it tried to make a difference. A number of clinics were held during the daytime but the numbers attending were minimal. Everyone was out at work during the day and they were not in a position to take a day's leave to register. The problem was highlighted for all of us in the last by-elections in Meath and Kildare. When we went to the houses we realised the impossibility of working from the electoral register. I went into a housing estate in Celbridge which had 59 houses but only four people in the whole estate were registered voters. Despite this, tonight we heard the Minister state that he will give a small sum of money to the local authorities when, in fact, this mechanism has been tried in Kildare and has failed dismally to address the major problem confronting us. I spoke to the officials who went to the clinics. They said it was a waste of time and money because they went around to the different areas in the county and so few people came through the doors.

There is another major problem, especially for young people. No one who has come into my office seeking to be put on the register will go to the Garda station to sign any papers. They just will not do so.

If we are really sincere about this matter, something must be done. Having listened to everyone, no doubt everyone wants to do it but the will is not there because the Minister does not have the drive to do it. It seems difficult to understand that the Minister, who is the representative of the people in this matter, is not willing to do it. He is willing to see so many citizens not entitled to vote and he is willing to merely give a pittance towards the financial implications involved for a local authority.

If a Deputy tables a parliamentary question or telephones the Department of Social and Family Affairs, the first item they will be asked for is the PPS number for the individual. Within seconds, irrespective of when that person worked last, which may have been 40 or 50 years ago, the Department official has that name on a screen in front of him or her, and yet this is rejected as a means of trying to take some action to give everyone the right to vote.

Last week we saw a great parade. The honour of 1916 was reflected greatly in O'Connell Street. Everyone was there, and yet the people who were there on behalf of the Government know in their hearts and souls, because Deputy Gilmore, my party's spokesman on the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, has continually stated it in this House, along with Deputy Quinn and others, that the rights of the people are being deprived. We had the honour and glory of last week and yet we know that 25% of the people are not being given the opportunity, which was fought for in 1916 and to which they are entitled, to vote.

The mechanism being used is a total joke. Unless the Minister is willing to call a halt and state this must be addressed, it will not happen. I listened to the Government and other speakers this evening. I listened to Deputy Fleming and his colleagues. Every one of them, typical of Fianna Fáil, spoke against the Government but will vote with it. That is the mechanism that has been used previously and it was used tonight. Their attitude is that if they get this out of the way tonight and move on, there will not be anything about it until the next election.

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