Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)

Fine Gael always gets ratty when it is embarrassed. I am prepared to listen to any argument and I listened to the Fine Gael argument in silence. I am glad Deputy Gilmore has joined us because his colleagues in Fine Gael could not even get the dates of the two elections right, something that speaks volumes.

The truth is that in attempting to accommodate one group of voters by choosing a particular polling day, another group may be inconvenienced. There will be advantages and disadvantages no matter which day is chosen. There is little evidence to suggest that the choice of a particular day of the week has a significant impact on voter turnout or that, for example, voting on a Friday produces a higher turnout. The two Fridays on which elections were held, in 1999 and 2004, involved other issues related to voter turnout. If we consider turnout data for elections in Ireland over the past 20 years, there are no definitive or clear-cut trends associating turnout with days of the week. Conflicting patterns are, in fact, evident, as well as ones contrary to the theories the Deputies opposite are advancing.

The last two general elections, in 2002 and 1997, were held on a Friday and turnouts of 62.6% and 65.9%, respectively, were recorded. The previous general election, held on a Wednesday in 1992, had a turnout of 68.5%. The turnout on the Wednesday was higher than on the Fridays. An election was held on a Thursday in 1989 and also had a turnout of 68.5%. On a Tuesday in 1987, it was 73.3%. That was a special situation, because at that time we had the most incompetent Government in the history of the State, a Fine Gael-Labour coalition, and it was run out of office. That coalition left us with 250,000 unemployed.

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