Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)

Under existing law, the marked copies of the register are made available for inspection by the Clerk of the Dáil under section 131 of the Electoral Act 1992 for a six-month period after a Dáil election. At European and local elections, which are nowadays held at the same time and with the same register documentation, the marked copies are retained by the local authority returning officer for public inspection over a similar period.

The effect of the proposed amendment would be to require the marked registers to be available in both local authority offices and libraries. Logistically, it would involve over 6,000 documents from each election being available for a five-year period instead of six months and then being transferred to the national archives afterwards instead of being destroyed. There are already detailed arrangements in place for inspection of registers of elections. I am satisfied that these operate in a satisfactory manner, given the issues that inevitably arise with custody, transportation and inspection of the over 6,000 marked registers involved. Therefore, I do not propose to accept the amendment.

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