Mary O'Rourke (Fianna Fail)

Senator Brian Hayes spoke about the errors in the electoral register. There was a debate on that matter yesterday in the other House. We will seek to bring the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Roche, into the House. There are serious inaccuracies in the register, not just regarding people who are no longer here, or have moved, remaining on the register. More important is that large numbers are not on the register.

I spent one week over the Easter break in Kinnegad, and one in Rochfortbridge, and found over 300 people who are not on the register. They are new to their areas and had never been put on the register, or did not know how to go about being put on the register. I submitted their names to the fine woman in charge of this in Westmeath County Council. She will call a meeting of all the parties to discuss ideas on how to deal with this problem.

We may talk about democracy but if one is not on the register one cannot vote. Then the people blame us when we call on their houses. I will be there on a second occasion, when the new register comes out, and maybe a third time.