Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)

Alternatively, provision could be made for not having a by-election. In the future, this election will be held on the same day as the European Parliament and local elections. No by-election takes place in the case of a vacancy arising on local authorities as the party concerned nominates a successor and perhaps this mechanism could be used. Alternatively, one could avail of the substitute list mechanism used in the European Parliament. These are ways in which one can have a continuation rather than an absence in the event of a person dying or resigning in office. This issue needs to be considered and freeing local authorities from the obligation to run a second or third election within a specific term would constitute a huge saving.

I am very disappointed about an issue I discussed previously with the Minister, who stated he would address a point I had made. This Bill is the first opportunity at which it could be addressed because it proposes to change the electoral laws. At present, the rules regarding the supplementary register require those who had not noticed their absence from the register but who wish to be on it to go to a police station or to a local authority. In the vast majority of working class areas, people simply could not be bothered. The previous system was ideal, whereby in the run-up to an election and between the sign-off on the registers, a person could fill out a form. If required, one could specify that such people would be obliged to produce photographic identification. This is already contained in the Bill but if one wished, one could amend it to apply to everyone. When they knock on doors, all candidates in any election will encounter someone who has not registered. Given the extent of computerisation, it should be extremely easy to implement such a change and I urge the Minister to revert to the original method of operating the supplementary register.

While I have much more to say on this Bill in respect of the failure to roll out proper local government structures, I will wait until Committee Stage. Although Sinn Féin made a submission to the Minister's Green Paper on local government reform, some of its points are not reflected in this legislation, which therefore is a missed opportunity.

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