Michael D'Arcy (Wexford, Fine Gael)

-----we could be facing reduction in the old-age pensions, children's allowance and public sector salaries. Those are the likely conditions that will be insisted upon by the European Stabilisation Fund, the International Monetary Fund, the European Central Bank and others in order to ensure we continue to pay our State salaries.

One aspect relating to postal voting should be considered. We have not given enough consideration in this jurisdiction to making it more convenient for people to cast their ballots. The Government certainly does not want to make this convenient, as we can see from the by-election to be held tomorrow week. It is to be held on a Thursday instead of giving people the opportunity to vote on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday, when students or other people return to the constituency. There are many opportunities to vote in the United States through postal ballots, and approximately 40% of the votes there in the mid-term elections two weeks ago were cast before election day. If we are to go ahead with this and the Greens insist on the office being established, with Fianna Fáil rolling over to facilitate this indulgence and extravagance, we should at least use the opportunity to consider a postal ballot for what is a rather irrelevant office. We could then consider it for general elections or by-elections. I am trying to take something positive from this but I am finding it very difficult.

We touched upon how the election could potentially cost €1 million and the per annum cost of the regional authority being €8 million. We have the opportunity not to spend that money. There are approximately 900,000 people on the voting register and we should take this opportunity to tidy up. It is a difficulty not just in Dublin but around the country and we must ensure the register is sorted out.

There is the matter of reimbursement of donations. A minimum of €33,140 will be reimbursed if somebody achieves a certain percentage of the quota. We would be giving out money from the Standards in Public Office Commission, and in these economic times paying money of that magnitude is just madness.

It is ironic that we will establish a regional authority of Dublin, RAD, while dissolving the Dublin Regional Authority, DRA. We will replace the DRA with the RAD; there is a word which comes to mind for this, which is M-A-D.

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