Tony Gregory (Dublin Central, Independent)

I welcome the deadline extension. I also welcome that, for the first time, an attempt is being made to achieve a reliable electoral register. I have highlighted this issue for as long as I have been a Member of this House, and that is quite a long time. During the debate on introducing electronic voting, I said we would be better off spending our time and energy streamlining the electoral register than in trying to change the voting system. This was dismissed with the casual arrogance that seems to go with some people in ministerial office.

The Minister will know that I have raised the complete lack of a verification process regarding the creation of a reliable register. This is quite remarkable in an age of such sophisticated technology. To be certain, I contacted those in Dublin City Council charged with compiling the register. They confirmed what we all know: they accept at face value all names and addresses submitted to them by persons who complete the relevant form. There is no process for cross-checking or verification. This might not be as serious as it sounds, other than we know that Members have been elected to the House by one vote, or just a handful of votes. Governments have been elected on that basis, yet we have no verification process. I also discovered that one cannot be added to Dublin City Council's parking permit list without producing four or five individual identification documents, including a utility bill as proof of address.

I would like to continue at length but I am sharing time with Deputy Murphy. I raised this with the Minister at a time when he could have done something about it, but he dismissed me out of hand with the same arrogance that Deputies Noel Dempsey and Cullen dismissed the argument during the debates on the introduction of electronic voting. It is a great shame that something so essential to a fair and democratic process is being ignored.

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