Paul Bradford (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Michael Ahern, to the House. I am sure he is interested in this debate. I support the remarks of Senator Mooney. The recommendations of the members of the political establishment, in their submissions to the electoral commission, were along the lines of the proposals which have been made by the commission. It seems that County Leitrim will be split in two for electoral purposes. Sadly, there is every prospect that there will be no Deputy from the county in the next Dáil, which would be very regrettable. When we establish the terms of reference for the next commission, we should try to ensure that the smallest areas and the smallest counties such as Leitrim are protected politically to ensure they will have representation in the Houses of the Oireachtas.

I appreciate that while the Bill may be short in terms of pages it is substantial from a political perspective. The commission must work with a small degree of discretion. Given that there are a set number of seats to be allocated and a fairly tight population statistic from which to work, the commission probably does not have room to manoeuvre to any great degree. I appreciate that its work was difficult, therefore, it is difficult to object to the recommendations made. However, we should consider other issues which greatly impact on the political system.

We need to concentrate on voter registration. I was pleasantly surprised during last summer's local election that, for the first time in a generation, there was a percentage increase in the number of the electorate voting, which I welcome. However, we should not take it for granted that such an improvement will continue. Unfortunately, the trend over the past 25 or 30 years is that fewer and fewer people vote in national and local elections. One of the reasons for this is difficulty with mistakes in the register of electors. A report in a recent Sunday newspaper highlighted the possibility of serious errors in the register of electors. We must put in place a more watertight system of voter registration which will ensure that, once a citizen of the State reaches 18 years of age, he or she will be automatically registered. Given the various systems that are in place, including the tax system and the social welfare system and the fact that every citizen has a PPS number, it should be possible to ensure that, on reaching the age of 18, every citizen will be registered.

I would also like to hear the Minister of State's views on setting a firm week and day for all elections, whether referenda, council elections or general elections. Weekends would offer people who live and work away from home a much greater prospect of voting. I support what Senator Bannon said earlier. I made the same suggestion previously in this House and elsewhere, which is that there should be a two day voting window. Perhaps voting could take place from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday and from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday. This would give everyone an opportunity to vote. We must try to ensure that citizens exercise their entitlement to use their franchise to vote. At the very least, Saturday should be set down as a voting day but we should also consider a half day on Friday. In other words, we should give the electorate a day and a half to use their franchise and cast their ballot. This would help to encourage more people to vote. I would be hesitant about Sunday voting, not from a religious point of view, but I would not like to encourage the voters of Cork or Tipperary to vote on a Sunday like last Sunday when the Munster hurling final was on. Friday and Saturday would be preferable in that regard.

Electronic voting was referred to by some of my colleagues. I was one of the people who welcomed the concept but, sadly, the system now appears to be very devalued. There was too much controversy and doubt about it. The Minister was unwilling to address the reasonable issues raised by the Opposition and others, including some of his party colleagues, during the course of the debate. There is now a degree of cynicism and doubt about electronic voting, which we will not be able to overcome in the short term. We must make it clear to the electorate that, for the next decade or so, voting will be done in the traditional fashion.

In a recent Supreme Court judgment in the United States, there was a strong ruling that there would have to be a paper trail for all electronic voting in the states that brought the matter forward for submission. In other words, they were not happy with just electronic voting and the result being produced on screen; they wanted a paper trail. This was one of the issues which was very much to the fore in the argument in this country. If we ever revisit the issue of electronic voting, the paper trail will have to be guaranteed.

As part of the whole package of voting, democracy and encouraging people to participate in the democratic process, I hope we will be sufficiently mature in the coming years to consider seriously our electoral system. The former Minister, Deputy Noel Dempsey, who landed himself and all of us in trouble in regard to electronic voting, has been brave in his pronouncements about our need to examine our electoral system. Dr. Garrett FitzGerald and others have suggested alternative systems which would be just as proportional as our present system but would produce better politics and policies. We are now supposed to be at a stage where, as a result of the ending of the dual mandate, local politics is to be separate from national politics. We need to reflect this in a new form of electoral system which in the future will be necessary if this country is to take the political decisions a modern economy and a modern society will need to take.

I hope my final point will be the subject of an amendment to be tabled by my party spokesperson, Senator Bannon. It relates to the Schedule. The constituency of the Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Michael Ahern, my former Dáil constituency of Cork East, was for half a century known as Cork North-East. It is made up of two distinct electoral areas and two divisions, Avondhu and Imokilly, and two council areas. Half of the constituency is part of the administrative area of north Cork and the other half is part of the administrative area of south Cork. I will be requesting that the constituency of Cork East is retermed Cork North-East, as it was called for two generations. I am not seeking a change in the boundaries, just that the constituency is retitled Cork North-East.

I thank you, a Leas-Chathaoirligh, for allowing me to make these observations, some of which may refer to matters beyond the scope of the current Bill. However, democracy is always an interesting topic to debate. Perhaps we take it for granted, but we must try to ensure that the public will engage more fully in the practice and theory of politics. We must use every opportunity to try to encourage people to exercise their vote. We must try to make registration and voting easier so that when we vote again to elect governments, councils or whatever, the public will engage to the maximum extent.