Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)

It is strange that that could occur. We know who will be on the B panel for the Parliament elections, but not for the local council elections. If someone in my constituency runs in the local and European elections simultaneously, I assume he or she would take the parliamentary position were he or she to win it, at which point the council seat would be handed to someone else. Running for two parliaments on the same day, picking and choosing and dumping someone into the open position would be deceptive.

I take great interest in examining the marked register often as I am always fascinated to see how many people do not vote. Approximately 40% of people who attend my clinics do not vote. I am always interested to see whether family members, friends of families, party members and their families vote. Examining the marked register is a fascinating exercise, but we are not allowed to access it in respect of referenda. We should have access. Many talking heads and celebrities had a lot to say about the Lisbon treaty, but I would be interested in knowing whether any of them voted. I suspect that some did not. As this is the Electoral (Amendment) Bill, it would be possible to introduce an amendment along these lines. The marked register is an important way to ensure that there is no fraud. It is easier to commit fraud in a referendum because no one gets to find out who voted.

My final point is on electoral reform. As a Member of this Parliament, I am shocked by how few Members are women. I am delighted that three women and four men are present in the Chamber, but it is an unusual and unrepresentative ratio. I grew up in a house of women, although my father is obviously a man. I attended mixed primary and secondary schools. I studied medicine at Trinity College in a class 70% of which was made up of women. Women comprise 40% of my party's members and more than one third of a council of which I was a member consisted of women. Then I came to Dáil Éireann and, for the first time, joined a men's club. I felt that I was at a meeting of the Order of the Knights of St. Columbanus or the Masons.

This issue must be addressed as the Parliament cannot continue to represent 50% of the population so poorly.

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