Ulick Burke (Fine Gael)

I welcome the opportunity to make a number of points concerning this legislation. The Bill highlights a great problem for this country, namely, the population drift from many areas in the west to the east with the exception of some core centres, such as Galway and Limerick cities. An essential part of this debate is the concern of the people of County Leitrim that they may not have Dáil representation after the next general election. Their concerns, as expressed by the group that formed subsequent to this proposal, are not necessarily about where the line will be drawn. For any county to go without Dáil representation would be serious. Other proposals detail only slight changes for constituencies in counties Dublin and Cork primarily. There is a choice of going here or there, as it were, but representation will be within those overall counties.

This is a matter of concern for the people involved and everyone, particularly those from the west, can identify with the serious decline in population levels in certain parts of rural Ireland. The Government has put few if any policies in place to rectify the situation or stabilise the population. Time and time again we are told about the flight from the land but it is more than a flight. Due to imminent threats to agricultural incomes in particular, many young people might live at home for a short time and commute to work over long distances but will leave for urban areas within three or four years. There is a large void in rural areas. We are only discussing County Leitrim today but what will be the status of other counties after the next census in 2006? We can see indications that this process will be accelerated. The end will come for any growing populations in the marginal areas of large towns and cities. People will move to small villages and towns due to their inability to get planning permission in rural areas.

Regarding the compilation and content of the electoral register, the media has highlighted recently that a number of people who are on the register should not be so. We must point a finger in this instance, as there is no clear process in place within local authorities to maintain a register that is reasonably accurate. For example, a young woman of approximately 23 years of age got married before the last general election in 2002 but was on the register five times, three times in her own parish and twice in her newly adopted area. For any local authority to stand over a claim that it has a proper mechanism to compile a register, this example shows it to be totally farcical.

On the matter of resources, the Better Local Government programme initiated by a former Minister for the Environment and Local Government is not working well. To the ordinary person who wants a service or access to local authorities, the situation is worse. Who are the people behind the answering machines and directors of services? I am certain they do not know their supposed areas of responsibility fully.

Someone from the community could be asked to send a list of names to local authorities. The local finance officers representing the local authorities could do this. If a realistic effort were made and actions adopted nationally, it would provide an opportunity to achieve a proper compilation of the register. This could be done through PPS numbers. Every individual in the country is now given a PPS number at birth. As a result, the relevant agency would be aware of dates of birth and the date at which persons become entitled to vote. Persons could also be automatically removed from the register upon death. The Minister of State should turn his attention towards compiling an accurate register.

I wish to speak about a specific case concerning the competency of presiding officers at polling stations. At a particular polling station in a town in the Galway East constituency, as Senator Kitt is aware, 40 first preference votes for me at the 2002 general election were deemed to be invalid solely because the presiding officer did not stamp the voting papers. I challenged this and had someone witness as I reported it in writing to the returning officer, whose response was to reappoint the person in question, who had proven his or her unworthiness to be a presiding officer, to work on the local and European Parliament elections. This was high-handed and inefficient of the returning officer, as he did not tell the person that he or she had been shown to be incapable of carrying out a very simple task. If e-voting had been introduced at the last general election, I dread to consider what might have ensued in the chaos of the new system with such people being appointed as presiding officers.

There is a need for the Minister of State to appraise the voting process, its operation and timing. If we are anxious to have a good turnout, should we not consider weekend polling from Friday to Sunday? We cannot blame the apathy of young people. They are not apathetic by and large but we do not provide ideal opportunities for them to vote.