Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

I wish to share my time with Deputy O'Sullivan.

The Labour Party supports this Fine Gael Bill this evening. I congratulate the party's environment spokesperson, Deputy O'Dowd, on bringing the Bill before the House. The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government has a hard neck. He is the Minister responsible for electoral matters. After his party's ten years in office he addresses the House like a detached don as regards what he would like to see in electoral law. He tells the House he is the fan of an independent electoral commission and about all the reforms he would like to see in our electoral legislation and procedures. He would like to see a rolling register. He welcomed the recommendations of the task force, which were published a year ago and tells us about all the things the next Dáil and Government should do about changes in electoral legislation.

See this speech in context