Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate, which touches on some of the most important and core aspects of our country, how we run our elections and how we protect and enhance our very democracy. As we are all too aware, particularly during the last decade, democracy and the very notion of free and fair elections is not something we can take for granted. A great number of factors have been pressing on this in recent years, both domestically and internationally. In this context, we must recognise that we are not exempt from the serious threats of misinformation and the other methods of electoral interference that have faced countries across the globe in recent years. For seven of my 11 years in this House, I was head of the Irish delegation to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and I oversaw nine elections in eastern Europe and the United States. We take our democracy for granted, particularly in comparison with countries like Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan and quite a number of others. There are many things we can learn. I would like to think the electoral commission that is to be established by this Bill will facilitate a learning process and a general improvement to the process. We are, and have, a very proud democracy. I am pleased to have the opportunity today to review and attempt to enhance the protections of our democracy and ensure that erosion does not encroach on what most of us in this House hold dear.

This Bill provides for some fundamental changes that will strengthen our democratic processes.

This includes the increased transparency in how our election campaigns are run and increased transparency with regard to political advertising. This is an important step in tackling the hidden actors and interests that, in the advent of social media and the Internet, will continue to pose a threat to our public discourse and our electoral campaigns, in conjunction with other measures in the online sphere outside of this Bill.

I particularly welcome the modernisation of systems that is long overdue, namely, the opening up of the registration process. This Bill allows for the introduction of online registration, the integrity of which is of paramount importance, in tandem with a simplified application process, which I believe will increase the accessibility of our voting system to thousands of people, particularly young people, who increasingly engage with systems and processes through the prism of the digital world. I hope that when this Bill is passed, we will see other Departments engage with these changes, for example, in schools where students who are on the brink of the voting age can be encouraged to explore politics and to register to vote.

There are, however, further ways in which we can advance the cause of our democracy and electoral system. As my colleague mentioned earlier, the tally process in elections should be formalised and introduced on statutory basis. I understand that during the Seanad campaign in 2020 the returning officer, Mr. Martin Groves, was unable to facilitate persons being able to tally due to Covid-19. My colleague, Deputy Joe Carey's office was informed that there was no requirement for the returning officer to facilitate tallies because it was not in law. That needs to be reviewed.Tallies play a vital role during the counting of votes and informs important understanding of constituencies and our communities. However, as it stands, tallies are wholly at the discretion of the returning officer and this has led to some incidents in recent elections, albeit thankfully in a limited respect, where political parties or individuals were not permitted to perform this vital function. If we were to introduce tallies in a more regulated and formalised manner, we can enhance the integrity of their collection and their use.

I would also like to highlight the role of postal voting. Currently our electoral system offers a limited avenue of access for the use of postal voting, which to date has been largely limited to the diplomatic corps and our Defence Forces. By expanding this right to other cohorts of the population, we can enhance turnout in elections and make it easier for people to vote, not harder. That includes registration which often takes place weeks in advance of a general election with many people having already made arrangements in their lives. It could be a holiday. Any person who is entitled to a vote does not suddenly lose that right because they choose to get on a plane or ferry. On that basis, we should be able to facilitate a more robust system for individuals who may wish to vote in absentia. That is something which is very common in other jurisdictions but is quite constrained in Ireland.

The ultimate goal of this Bill is to expand access to voting and to make it easier so some of my remarks hold water. Importantly, these steps would allow for a greater degree of flexibility in our elections. In February 2020, we narrowly avoided major disruption to the general election as the Covid pandemic turned our lives upside down, just a month later. What if the election had been scheduled for March or April? Those are things that the committee, the Department and Minister have spent time considering. However, the lessons of this potential disaster must be taken on board. Not only would a delayed or hindered election pose significant constitutional questions but it would also harm public confidence in the electoral process and lead some to question the validity of the results. This is a scenario I hope that we will never see in our country but if we are to be sure that this does not come to pass, we must ensure that we have a system that is flexible and able to respond to unprecedented crises or public emergencies such as a pandemic. By doing this now, we can future-proof our elections for forthcoming generations.

Finally, I would also like to take the opportunity to briefly mention the role election dates and the impact they can have. I have long believed, since the beginning of my parliamentary career, that general elections should take place on a weekend. This, I believe, complements the spirit of this Bill, again increasing the inclusivity and access of as many people as possible in our electoral process. I served on the Joint Committee on Investigations, Oversight and Petitions back in 2012. Professor Michael Marsh came before the committee and spoke at length on the pros and cons of weekend voting in relation to the turnout and those who would be facilitated or not by a weekend vote. If I recall correctly, the findings, by someone who is considered an expert on elections and statistics, were that it would facilitate and discommode people in equal measure. We held the children's referendum on a Saturday in 2012 and many people across civil society blamed the poor turnout, which I think was about 30%, on that. However, we all know that it was because of the subject matter which people did not consider a controversial item. The polls all suggested it would pass, so the turnout was low. The House should facilitate more people to vote and to do so at the weekend. Most importantly, we close 1,400 schools every time we have an election. I do not think that is right. We are discommoding children, parents and teachers and the bottom line is that those kids have to make it up some how. We should have a mature debate on that. By introducing such a measure, we could remove yet more barriers to individuals and their ability to cast their ballot.

I commend the Minister on the introduction of this Bill and the commitment of the Government to introduce real reform in our electoral process and to expand the role of people across Ireland in the most sacred and cherished of civic duties.

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