Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I join with my colleagues in supporting the Bill and commend, in particular, Deputy Ó Cuív for his commitment to the Bill, which is consistent with his tremendous commitment to island communities in his capacity as a Deputy and, previously, as a Minister. I know the Deputy has been pushing this legislation over the past couple of years. He first proposed such a Bill in May 2014, but it was not passed at that stage. However, Deputy Ó Cuív has been tremendously persistent in terms of following through on an amendment and a reform which he believes, and I concur, is long overdue to our island communities and one that makes eminent sense.

As a Deputy from Donegal, I know that it is a move that would be very much welcomed. We have approximately 750 registered voters on the islands. In each election, voting takes place on Tory, Gola, Arranmore, Inishbofin and Inishfree. Unfortunately, too often it is seen at national level as a novelty or colour story the day before a general election. We can always be sure the media will be there. In some ways it is useful for tourism purposes because there are great pictures. We can be sure the regional correspondents will turn up and take the ferries out and it certainly brings a bit of media attention. However, it also shows the islands as being apart from the mainland. It shows they are required to stick to a tradition which was absolutely necessary in the past but is, thankfully, no longer necessary today. It is now an inconvenience for them, but also one that, in a way, detaches them. Too often they feel unnecessarily detached from services and what is available to those on the mainland.

With parties, Deputies and the Dáil taking a second look at the Bill, I hope it will be warmly welcomed, given strong consideration and is successful on this occasion and I hope, come the next general election, that those on the islands will be able to vote on the same day, at the same time and on the same basis as those at other polling stations throughout the country.

There are different means of achieving this objective. Deputies Chambers and Ó Cuív noted that transport links are now such that this has become eminently feasible. The infrastructural reasons for having islands vote a day earlier are no longer valid.

It has fallen to Deputy Ó Cuív to take this Bill forward, which is appropriate given that no one in this Dáil and several of those which preceded it has been more committed to the islands. Island communities, not only in County Donegal but also elsewhere, owe the Deputy a great debt of gratitude for the work he has done on their behalf. He ensured, for example, that schemes were initiated to deliver funding for services on islands that had been ignored previously. There is no doubt that these services would not have been provided were it not for the commitment, persistence and political will Deputy Ó Cuív has shown.

I hope this minor reform, albeit one that would mean a great deal to island communities, will progress through the various legislative Stages. I urge the Minister to respond positively to the Bill and ensure it is implemented in good time for the next vote, whether a general or local election or a referendum. We want the media stories to be of regional correspondents travelling by boat to the islands to show how island communities will, for the first time, vote on the same day and on the same timeline as everybody else.

I commend the Bill to the House.

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