Michael Kitt (Fianna Fail)

The emphasis will be on showing how simple it will be to vote in the new way and those of us who were in the Mansion House have seen that. The Minister of State has told us there will be countrywide roadshows or a visit to the provinces. It is very clear that there are benefits from the new system. It is easier to use, very efficient, improves electoral accuracy and administration and, most important, it eliminates the democratic wastage associated with spoiled votes.

The process is straightforward as we saw last Wednesday and I hope that the Minister's information campaign will extend to the whole country, employing a range of media, including television, radio, the Internet, poster advertising and every possible means of communication to ensure that the campaign is successful. A total of 400,000 people have already used the system and their comments have been very favourable. I hope we can make the electoral system successful and that people will be comfortable with it. The Department has said there will be a 120 day roadshow demonstration of the new machine after Easter, reaching every part of the country. I am in favour of this new system and the public has demonstrated a positive response to date. I hope it will be successful for those who use it in June and I wish all the candidates every success.