Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)

The Deputy should have a little bit of logic in the way he approaches life. The Commission on Electronic Voting was set up by the Oireachtas to do a job. It is an independent body and we all expect it will do its job without interference from the Deputy or me.

On Deputy Cuffe's question about depreciation, it is not normally applied to equipment like this. He is correct that equipment depreciates over time. He asked a related question to Deputy Broughan's question, namely, could the machines be updated? There is a significant difference between simple enumerating machines, which is what these machines are, and computers. They would not require the same updating as computers. The final response to the question of the future use of the machines will flow from the CEV's report. I will not delay making a final decision after I receive that report.

See this speech in context