Damien English (Meath, Fine Gael)

What is the Government's problem in giving people the opportunity to vote in the forthcoming election? I would not be surprised if the Taoiseach decides to hold it on a Saturday. It is causing great confusion among people.

Democracy is about involving the people, yet day in and day out Dáil Éireann is becoming less of a democracy. We are heading towards a dictatorship. It must be our duty to give people the best chance to vote. Which provides the better opportunity to vote — a weekday or a weekend day? The answer is obvious, a weekend day. Although I am aware of the constitutional implications, I support the calls for a two-day election process. People are losing interest in politics and politicians for many reasons. They are not, however, losing interest in the issues, particularly the young. They do not feel they are involved in the process and the best time to address this is during an election. Instead, the Taoiseach is giving them the message that we do not want them to be involved in their democracy by shutting down their opportunity to vote. The Taoiseach would rather people do not vote. It might suit him better but it is not about him.

Patterns of life have changed considerably and elections should be formulated around these. The Government may make life difficult enough for people but it is its duty to make life easy for them when it comes to voting. Elections should be based around people's daily lives. Many people do shift work lasting up to 15 hours. Many travel up to three hours to work. The Taoiseach is still living in the Dark Ages because he does not realise what is going on around him. People already have enough stress but holding the election on a weekday will only put more stress on them. People will be forced to drive home late at night in horrendous road conditions, and we all know what that could lead to. That will be on the Taoiseach's conscience because he has not given a valid reason the election should be on a weekday. The only reason for this is that it simply suits him. This is not about him but about our democracy and getting people involved in it.

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