Pat Moylan (Fianna Fail)

I see Senator Bannon's point, but I do not agree with him. In the past people have said to me that if the European Parliament elections had not been held on the day of the local elections, the turnout for European Parliament election would have been very low. There is a tendency for people to be a bit removed from the European scene. We hold the local elections every five years along with the European Parliament elections. The system in place at present is quite good because it ensures a good turnout for the local elections as well as the European elections.

I understand the point with regard to referenda held on the same day in respect of which the Minister might consider that no more than two polls be held on the same day. With regard to council elections, there might be three different polls – town council, county council and European Parliament – but that should be the maximum.