Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

The amendment provides that the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform shall prepare a scale of maximum charges for returning officers in university constituencies, and it will be paid by the Minister for Finance with which I have no difficulty. Has the Minister information on the scale of fees that apply to returning officers? How many returning officers are there? There is one for every Dáil constituency. The Minister might confirm the matter in relation to Dáil constituency returning officers is already in the legislation. He might advise me on whether we have come to it. I do not see an amendment on it and perhaps the Minister is happy with the section. He might tell me because I want to speak on that section, if, as I presume, it is in the Bill. We are dealing with the university panels and I presume the Dáil, for which, I think, the Clerk of the Dáil is the returning officer, are already in the legislation.

On the university panels, I refer specifically to the scale of fees for returning officers for the Seanad elections in the section of the Act to be amended. I suspect the biggest fee item to be incurred would be the cost of postage to each of the electorate, many of whom are abroad or deceased. We are all aware from general elections of the state of the voters' register and we might come to that separately if it is covered in the legislation.

On the Seanad election, I imagine there must be significant waste of money. I propose the following in the case of the Seanad. I do not know how many candidates there were for the Seanad election. Every one of them sent us literature, once, twice or, in some cases, three times, and those of us who are graduates were getting that stuff. I was voting for the NUI panel. There were approximately 25 candidates on that and I certainly received post from the majority of them. I literally had a drawer full of stuff come polling day and I do not know whether I ever got to look at one item or another.

There is enormous waste. I am giving the Minister a concrete suggestion for saving money. I made it at the Committee of Public Accounts and I think the Department of Finance, in its response, was receptive to it. It did not happen on this occasion but there is no reason it cannot happen. I could take a general election or the Seanad election as an example, but I will take the general election to keep it simple. As with a referendum where a book goes to every house or every premises where there is a registered voter, it is possible with technology that a single book should go to every registered voter in a constituency with a pen-picture. If there are ten candidates, the ten pen-pictures would be in one little booklet so they get one item of literature, not ten different items of literature from ten different candidates, all being paid for by citizens and taxpayers. If the Referendum Commission can put a booklet together, it is possible.

When handing in nominations - this applies to the Seanad - one must supply one's photograph etc. and that process could include supplying the photograph for this book. If they can get ballot papers printed with all of the photographs and a short pen-picture of the candidate including his or her name and details, there is no reason that could not be put into booklet form and one document issued to each voter instead of if there are 20 candidates each of them sending it at massive cost. The cost of duplication runs into several million euro. The electorate gives out bitterly about the wasteful expenditure at election time and it certainly applied here in the university panels. It is a way of reducing costs.

The Minister, as he will be consulted on the scale of fees, should insist that they help reduce the cost. An Post will object to this because it is a revenue stream for it during an election campaign. There are 60,000 on the register of electors for the NUI or TCD. I am not quite sure of the exact figures but there is an enormous cost. It is possible with technology to get a booklet printed quickly within the first week of a campaign after nominations are in and to send that booklet at the cost of one postage stamp rather than 15 candidates sending their own stuff at the cost of 15 postage stamps. When the Minister is consulted on the scale of fees, will he take that into account? He might tell me whether the parallel general election situation is covered in this legislation.

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