Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)

I thank everyone who contributed to the debate, particularly Members on this side of the House. Those on the Government benches did not take up all the time allocated to them to make contributions.

This Bill is about the future, not the past. We are living in an Ireland of change. The country has changed radically in many ways. The emphasis of the contributions on this side of the House has been on the future of the country and, in particular, the role of young people and their organisations. All Members, including the Minister of State, were e-mailed by those organisations and informed that they want the opportunity to exercise their franchise to the maximum extent. In their e-mails, they indicated that they do not support Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil, Labour or the Green Party. They merely seeking inclusivity and an opportunity to participate in the election. The Union of Students in Ireland indicated that it wants the election to take place at a weekend.

The Government represents the forces of reaction to change. It does not want change, it merely wants to batten down the hatches and make it as difficult as possible for the electorate to participate fully in the forthcoming election. Therefore, it represents the past, the forces that do not want to change, the Thursday voting syndrome and the those who want to keep as many people as possible away from the polls. The Government wants to forget about third level students or to make it as difficult as possible for them to vote. It is aware, as are we, that they represent the swing vote. Those students want change and they want to exercise their franchise in full. It is not practical for many thousands of them to travel long distances on a Thursday in order to vote and then return that night or on the Friday in order to either continue to prepare for or sit their exams.

The Minister of State is correct to state that many students' lectures have concluded. However, they are preparing to sit their exams and it is a difficult time for them in terms of making grades or doing well enough to obtain their degrees. Not allowing them to vote on a Friday or a Saturday, days on which they would normally return home, is a retrograde step on the part of this reactionary Government.

Another group about which I am concerned is that which is comprised of commuters. Thousands of people get up early each morning in order to travel to work — the roads in my constituency are usually extremely busy by 6 a.m. — and return home late at night. It is almost 8.30 p.m. and many people who live in counties Louth, Meath, Wicklow, etc., will only now be arriving home. These individuals know that on Thursday evening when they return home they must prepare to go to work again the next morning. Holding the election on a Thursday represents another reaction on the part of the Government to commuters who, as Deputy Durkan stated, are paying additional mortgage costs as a result of increases in interest rates and who are obliged to spend extra hours commuting by road and so on. Those people want to vote the Government out of office and they are being denied the opportunity to do so.

Those of us on this side of the House represent change. We want commuters and young people to be able to vote at the most opportune time. The natural work cycle for the many thousands of people who work away from home ends on Friday. They return home on that day and begin to engage with their families again. They are not obliged to get up on Saturday in order to commute to work and they, therefore, have the time to vote either on Friday or Saturday.

Evidence relating to weekend voting in many of the modern vibrant democracies across Europe was provided last night. The Taoiseach himself referred to the elections in France, where there was a turnout of 85% on Sunday last. The position was similar in past elections held in Greece and elsewhere at weekends.

As it votes down this Bill, the Government is really saying that it does not want young people and commuters to participate, to the fullest extent possible, in our democracy. As times change, so governments change. We are of the view that there will be a change following the election that is almost upon us.

This debate has engaged young people and the organisations that represent them. We want a modern, new democracy, we want change and we want to give people the greatest possible opportunity to vote, one way or the other. We believe that weekend voting represents the way forward.

This simple Bill before the House states that the election ought to be held on a Friday, a Saturday or a Sunday. That makes sense. The Bill is a practical and focused measure to allow those who, because of their working or educational arrangements, find it most difficult to vote mid-week. I commend the Bill to the House.

See this speech in context