Michael Finucane (Fine Gael)

I, too, welcome the decision of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform regarding immigrants. It is very important because asylum seekers are subject to innuendo in many rural communities, where they are perceived to be almost wandering around aimlessly. Terminology such as "freeloaders" is sometimes used, which is a bit harsh. The beneficial aspect of the Minister's decision will be that it will bring people out of the twilight zone and restore the dignity of the non-national parents of children born in Ireland. It is extremely important to include such people in the workplace because this will increase the respectability attached to all immigrants in their position.

I understand the electronic voting machines that were mothballed are to be used on an experimental basis to convince the commission and the electorate that they are usable. This is probably laudable given that €51 million was spent on them. However, it is worth reminding the House that the main objection to them in the first place was the absence of a verifiable paper audit trail.

The Government should ascertain whether the machines can be configured to achieve a verifiable paper audit trail, otherwise the whole exercise could be brought into disrepute again. There may be an attempt to use the machines in the referendum to be held in the near future. While this is important, it is equally important to fine-tune the system, implement it fairly and respect the concerns of the public. The unfortunate former Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, who attempted to introduce the electronic voting system, was caught in a PR exercise. We would not like to see the same error repeated by the new Minister in that Department. The Minister should exercise caution in what he seeks to achieve in this area.