Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)

Yes, Minister. In 2004, there was a 58.58% turnout on a Friday. The evidence is that by holding the election on a Friday there was a big increase in voter turnout. It is important that we look at these statistics, which justify the holding of the election on a Friday. The last local and European elections were not Fianna Fáil's finest hour, especially the European elections. At least Fianna Fáil managed to field a team of candidates, which is more than its colleagues in Government did. Perhaps that is why the Taoiseach has concerns about this issue. Instead of running scared, he should agree that having an election on a Friday would give as many people as possible an opportunity to cast their ballot.

Young people are sick of being blamed for not voting. If the election is held on a Thursday, questions will be asked on radio and television programmes about why young people did not vote. That has happened in the past. We cannot blame young people for not voting if we do not give them the opportunity. We worked long and hard to be in a position where we could vote in this country. It must be accepted that young people have to contend with exams or would have difficulty getting home from work. We must hold elections on Fridays, Saturdays or Sundays to ensure people can cast their ballot on election day, rather than blaming them for not voting.

I am sure the Minister, Deputy Roche, has a wonderful prepared script in reply to us on these issues but, ultimately, although he is in a fairly powerful position, he is not the man who will make the final decision on when the election will be held. Although the Taoiseach does not generally attend Private Members' debates, I hope he will attend tomorrow night to cast his vote and let people see where he stands on this issue. We have just this evening and tomorrow evening to persuade him to have a degree of common sense on this issue and to show his genuine appreciation and respect for the views of young people by giving them the franchise they deserve along with everyone else in this country.

I urge the Minister, the Taoiseach and the Government to seriously consider this issue. The Government should row back, accept this motion and have the election on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday so that every citizen would have an equal opportunity to cast their ballots. Whoever they choose is up to them. We will all canvass them as best we can. I would be ashamed to be a member of a party which would not allow young people to exercise their franchise. We, in the Fine Gael Parliamentary Party, are fortunate that we have a better spread of young people than the parties across the House. Perhaps that has influenced Fine Gael's views on this issue. Fianna Fáil may not have had the same opportunity but I am sure Ógra Fianna Fáil has strong views on the matter. If I was involved in that party I would be annoyed my voice was not being heard. Perhaps the Minister will think again about this issue.

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