Brian Hayes (Fine Gael)

I can confirm that the spirit is very much correct and in a subsequent amendment the detail can be changed to reflect the point Senator Quinn has made. I want to take on Senator Dardis's dismissal of the points made by my colleague. E-voting is not like increasing the price of a pint or the tax rate, but represents a fundamental change to the way we operate elections. The Government must have all-party support to proceed as I said four months ago in this House. If one party in this or the other House opposes it, that party will become the focus of opposition in the country to the proposal. The Government has got this completely wrong. If, when the report was published, it had the good grace to admit it had made a hash of the entire procedure it had put in place to introduce the system, there would be considerably more sympathy for it. However, it has no sympathy because it never consulted anyone.

All the parties did sit down together at the Joint Committee on the Environment and Local Government. Last Sunday, Deputy Seán Power, the Chairman of that committee, said the one great mistake the Government made was not to allow the committee do its work. The Government guillotined the debate and imposed a whip on all the members from the Government parties to take a certain line. Have we learnt nothing about the importance of committees? Such committees can take important issues like this out of the party political system and try to engender agreement so the Government can implement the committee's decision. In this entire debacle the Government never stopped to listen to the Opposition. If it had done so we would not be where we are today.

I thank the commission and I love its report. However, I want the Houses of the Oireachtas ultimately to make the decision. While I appreciate its work and expert advice, I do not want a commission to make such a decision. Ultimately such a decision should be made on the basis of consensus because the issue is so important and above party politics. I agree with Senator Bannon that we need consensus on this matter if we are to advance. Otherwise the integrity of e-voting will be questioned when it is introduced.

If parties in the House do not want to take the decision we should let the people decide whether they want e-voting. This is another classical example of the Government not listening to the people. At a time when many other priorities faced the country, in 2001 the former Minister for the Environment and Local Government, Deputy Noel Dempsey, landed this matter on people's desks. There is no great clamour for it. It is another example of disconnected politics. Ultimately e-voting does not matter and will not change the world. However, it is a sign of a Government that has run its course and is rummaging around for ideas. It picked up e-voting as some kind of fascinating way forward for mankind. The Government has had its knuckles rightly rapped as a result of this proposal.

If the Government has learned anything from this debacle, it should be the need for all-party agreement on the matter. It should listen to people more often. I have considerable sympathy for the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Cullen. This was landed on his desk by the former Minister, who looked for tenders for the system before either House of the Oireachtas had passed the legislation. In autumn 2001 the former Minister sent the system out for public tender without any Government decision, or at least no such decision had been debated in either House of the Oireachtas.

Who wanted this legislation in the first place? It was not the Government. A month ago the Government assured us there was no need for legislation and this could be done by order. However, this legislation, so ably defended by my colleague, the Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, is now before us. The goal posts have moved. The Government changes the argument whenever it suits and its credibility is pretty thin when it comes to electronic voting.