Dáil debates

Tuesday, 5 April 2022

Electoral Reform Bill 2022: Second Stage

 

6:50 pm

Photo of John Paul PhelanJohn Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I join others in welcoming the Bill. This is fundamental. It is the basis on which we are here as Members of this House. The same can be said of those in the Upper House and local authority members across the country. Like so many things in Ireland, aspects of our public life that work well often go unremarked upon. I remember my first visit to the franchise section during my time in the Custom House, and discovering that our entire democratic process was dependent on ten or 12 people in a cramped office. Those people do a remarkably good job. Because they do their job so well, their work often goes unnoticed. It is an unusual balancing act and position they hold within the Civil Service in the sense that once an electoral event is called, they have to step outside the Department to be the oversight body for that electoral process. I want to place on record my regard for what they do and the importance of the job they do, as well as their work in bringing forward this legislation. It looks very familiar and contains many things I would have dealt with during my time in charge of the franchise section.

I agree with some of the points the previous speaker made about the possibilities an electoral commission presents, particularly in the area of research and education. My experience of studying legislation over the years is that the number of lines contained in a section of a Bill or dealing with a particular matter does not necessarily relate to the significance of that section or that matter. Most of this Bill, like much of the legislation that comes before the Houses, deals in its text with amendments to existing legislation but it also opens up a new understanding - I will not say a new direction - and potential for how we view our own democratic system and process of elections.

I acknowledge that the legislation, like so much else over the past few years, has been delayed owing to the crisis the country has been through. I welcome that it has been introduced today. This is not a criticism of the Minister of State, Deputy Hildegarde Naughton, but there are three Ministers in the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and it would have been better if one of them was present for this debate.

On section 68 and the issue of voter registration, the previous speaker touched on voter turnout in some areas of the country versus others. He referred to them as deprived areas. Voter turnout is a product of how well our local authorities keep the register. Some local authorities and some specific areas are very good at keeping the register up to date. I ask the Minister of State to give some examples and explain whether a carrot or a stick will be used in respect of registration authorities with regard to how well they keep their registers in the future. The Bill proposes a rolling registration process and having the facility for online registration. The situation that exists at present is ridiculous. There are about 18 different forms, or that was the figure given to me at the time, allowing for either initial registration or a change in a voter's status to a special voter or some other category under the current system. I ask the Minister of State to give us more information on the process of online registration and how she and the Department view that operating in reality.

I also raise the process of switching our registration system to one based on the use of an identifier. A Government decision was made a number of years ago on the use of PPS numbers. Obviously, those PPS numbers would never be published on electoral registers because that would be a breach of several rules and laws. However, the use of PPS numbers will ensure that we will not continue to have the situation that currently exists right across the country whereby people have multiple registrations. Just because they change their address, it does not mean they are not removed from the register in one area. That gives a completely skewed view of voter turnout at election time, particularly in urban areas. There may be people who are renting and who change their address or seven or eight people registered at an address where only two voters actually live.

Notwithstanding my earlier praise, the Minister of State might also outline the future direction for the franchise section within the Department post the establishment of the electoral commission. In recent years, we have rightly looked at what has happened in other jurisdictions. Principally, in an Irish context, that usually means the UK or the US, and influences of an external nature on elections and referendums, which are online for the most part. I will not beat around the bush. We are talking about Brexit and the US presidential election and influences that were brought to bear from outside jurisdictions. There is much more public awareness in Ireland as to whether those influences are happening here.

One issue this legislation does not deal with is the influence of money that is not given directly to political parties on electoral campaigns. I refer to money given to NGOs and lobby groups and the registration and declaration of that money. It does not matter whether the money exists. We should know and the voting public should know. Democracy should not be a battle of bank accounts.

It should be a battle about ideas. I welcome the legislation and I hope the Minister of State can provide some of those clarifications.

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