Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)

Absolutely. I agree with the Deputy. We have this nonsensical figure. It is the case that if 100,000 people are on the register and 50,000 people vote, ipso facto, the turnout is only 50%. If the register is only 80% correct, it is five eighths of people who voted so the calculation of the turnout would be rather different.

The more important point is the efficacy of the register and whether it provides a basis for a proper, democratic election or, as Deputy Gay Mitchell asked at the end of his contribution, if it provides the wherewithal that people can fraudulently present themselves to vote. That is a big concern which we should all share. It does not matter on which side of the House we are, we should all be very concerned about that.

I put an unprecedented amount of money into the upgrading of the voting register this year. The only appropriate way to compile the voting register is to do it in the same way as the census is done — to make sure that every household is visited. I was amazed, therefore, at the contribution of Deputy Hayes, who suggested that somehow or other we should pedal back on this process. The criticism which was rightly made earlier this year was that sufficient resources had not been put into the register. The specific criticism that was made, which was a valid one for which we all have to accept some responsibility, was that no effort had been made to edit the register — in other words, people appeared on three or four different registers and no effort was made to take them off. Likewise, no effort was made to take off people who had died.

What is under way at the moment is, effectively, a door to door call on every household in the State, not once, not twice but three times. Deputy Hayes asked why we do not have a media campaign under way. He clearly leads a very sheltered life. I have seen the advertisements on television. They have been focused in particular at the youth end of the spectrum. The advertisements are also being run in the print media. I think they are very effective. If the Deputy does not watch television or read newspapers there is very little more I can do about that but the point is that a genuine effort has been made.

More than twice the resources have been put into this area this year as compared to other years. That is why I have provided a fund of up to €6 million to assist local authorities in this regard. All councils have been given the right to engage additional staff, including additional backroom staff, for the process. Deputy Hayes also made an interesting point in regard to his local authority area. He stated that staff were prohibited from using common sense or information in the council's possession. I hope people would use common sense. If the council knows a house is occupied, I expect it to pay the house the requisite number of visits, put the notices in and ensure the people living there know what is happening.

Deputies Fiona O'Malley, Gay Mitchell and Gilmore made the point that local authorities have a legal responsibility to ensure that the voting register is compiled. I am giving them more resources, which I expect to be used prudently. It was suggested that we extend the deadline for voter registration, but I am unsure as to whether that would be a wise move. The deadline is set and we should stick to it. I do not see the point in its extension. If local authorities have not done their jobs, I want to know why. They have had adequate notice, circulars and——

See this speech in context