Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)

It doubled the national debt and was running 35,000 to 45,000 people per year out on the emigrant ship. That election got rid of a Government that had elevated unemployment to 250,000. That was why on a Tuesday in 1987, 73.3% of the electorate turned out.

Turnout figures recorded for the same day of the week vary significantly from poll to poll and from year to year. As I have said, the European elections held in 2004 and 1999 were both on a Friday, contrary to the point made by Deputies opposite, but their turnouts were 58.6% and 50.2% respectively. The right to life referendum held on a Wednesday in 1992 had a recorded turnout of 68.2%, while the protection of human life referendum in 2002, also on a Wednesday, had a turnout of 42.9%. We know why this is, because issues dominate electoral turnout.

Statistical evidence supporting a direct link between weekend voting and increased voter participation is also lacking internationally. Weekend voting was tried in several state and local elections in the US in 2000 and did not produced definitive results one way or the other. In some elections, such as was the case in California, there was increased voter turnout with respect to comparable elections held on Tuesdays. In other cases, Texas for example, there was no measurable change in voter participation. Weekend voting was found to be a costly endeavour with election officials, support personnel, including maintenance workers, working overtime. Normal weekend events such as sporting events and concerts had to be rescheduled.

A weekend voting Bill was proposed in the US Congress in January 2005 which aimed to amend federal law with respect to elections to provide for Saturday and Sunday voting for the election of Congress and the President and Vice President of the United States but this Bill never became law.

In Britain, where the experience is more comparable to ours, during local elections in Camden in 2002, voting was made available on the weekend before the usual Thursday election day. In this experiment, according to an evaluation undertaken by the British electoral commission, just 1.1% of the total turnout availed of the opportunity to vote at the weekend, the remainder preferred to vote on a Thursday. A pilot experiment in Watford in 2000 found that the change to weekend voting did not appear to encourage many new voters to vote at the polling stations.

It may well be that reforms like weekend voting might be attractive to some people who already vote, rather than encouraging non-voters to get the voting habit. It is clear that the choice of a particular polling day alone does not necessarily encourage turnout and other factors besides the day of the week are at work. Looking at the figures for both elections and referenda over the years, there is no direct connection between the day of the week and turnout. There is, however, a connection between turnout and the extent to which people are exercised at the time about the issues before them and the level of public interest in the election, the real issues at stake. That is why there was such a phenomenal turnout in 1987, because people wanted to get rid of the Government. There is a great onus, therefore, on the Members of the House and on candidates generally to make the upcoming election as interesting and as engaging as possible.

Political engagement is the foundation of a healthy democracy. Disconnection from the political process in Ireland is indicated by declining rates of electoral participation in recent decades. Over a 25 year period, turnout in Irish general elections has dropped, from 76% in 1977 to 63% in 2002. In a move to turn this and other trends around, the Government established the taskforce on active citizenship in April 2006 to lead a national conversation on the extent to which citizens engage in the issues that affect them and their communities. The taskforce, which had a specific sub-committee on political issues, voter participation and education, produced its report in March of this year. It will be an interesting report and there should be an informed debate on the issue. This is one issue where both Deputy O'Dowd and I firmly agree; whatever happens on 17, 21 or 31 May, we need a debate on how we conduct our elections. I am a fan of the idea of a rolling register to deal with the point Deputy Enright made. I am on the record as saying that on several occasions. I am a fan of the concept of an electoral commission that could deal with all of the issues, producing, inter alia, clear research on the best way to conduct elections.

The report, following a widespread and varied consultation process across the country, makes a number of important recommendations to Government on participation in the democratic process. These include the establishment of an independent electoral commission with a mandate to encourage everyone who is eligible to register and vote in elections, to support voter education programmes and provide data, research and analysis on the issue of political engagement and awareness. Other recommendations covered areas such as the public service and citizens, community engagement, education for citizenship and ethnic and cultural diversity.

I welcome, in particular, the task force's proposal for the establishment of an independent electoral commission and believe that if there is consensus on anything in this House as regards the electoral area, it is on this issue. It is an area where reform can be achieved and progress made in a positive sense. After the general election, regardless of who is in Government, we should establish an independent commission and have a logical discussion on issues ranging from voter education, to registration, to the date on which an election is held and how electronic voting systems might be introduced. I do not want to get into a debate with Deputy Connaughton on this, but since he raised it, and to answer his specific point——

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