James Bannon (Fine Gael)

Something must be done to ensure that these people are put on the register. It is already difficult to get young people to vote. They are busy, work long hours and, to be honest, are of a political generation that feels separated from the political process and, in many cases, let down by the Government. We should not make it harder to convince them to take part in the democratic process. There is no need for these massive inaccuracies in 2006. Other countries have had large scale apartment living for years and they can get their citizens onto the electoral register without much problem.

It would be interesting to know the level of registration among new workers in this country. EU citizens are entitled to vote in local and European elections, while non-EU citizens can vote in local elections if they are registered. Figures from the North are not promising and we have no reason to believe the figures for the South would be any better. Only four out of ten people in the minority communities in the North are registered to vote compared to more than nine out of ten in the general population. This figure compares unfavourably with England and Wales, where an estimated 83% of the black and minority ethnic communities are registered.

Moreover, of those minority groupings that are registered in the North, less than half bother to vote compared to an overall turnout in the North of 64%. Among minorities in the North, almost a third said they did not know how to register and a quarter said they did not know they had to register. I urge the Minister to examine this issue when he or his successor hopefully takes on the challenge of sorting out the mess in the electoral register.

It is timely that this issue is being debated as people hand over their census forms. Not only is the electoral register a vital electoral tool but it is, in essence, an annual "census" used by people such as historians, genealogists and others. EU instigated legislation, which Ireland has implemented, has curbed its use for the issuing of unsolicited junk mail.

The simple solution to the current fiasco is to automatically place people on the register when they have reached the age of 18 years. Employing the PPS number used by the Department of Social and Family Affairs would do this easily, provided confidentially is guaranteed. That guarantee is a matter many people have raised with me. Every person over 18 years of age already has a PPS number. When a citizen reaches the voting age, the Department of Social and Family Affairs could automatically inform the relevant local authority. Such a system would efficiently eliminate much of the confusion that reigns.

Employing third level students over the summer months to update the electoral register is a productive suggestion. With the academic terms of third level institutions about to end, many thousands of students will be looking for short-term employment until they continue their studies in the autumn. Employing them to update the register would not only provide them with a welcome opportunity to earn extra income but also engage them in the political process. Many young people are disillusioned by what they perceive to be the negative image of politics, the abuses of power and blatant waste of taxpayers' money associated with the Government. Involving them in the political process would give them a sense of making a difference by doing important remedial work on the register.

Legislation making it obligatory for voters to bring photographic ID with them to the polling station is a simple yet effective measure to prevent abuse of the system. In an age where people are used to producing photographic ID to travel, this suggestion is not tantamount to encouraging the introduction of ID cards but a simple and effective measure to protect the integrity of our democratic electoral system.

This weekend one Sunday newspaper referred to one of the most powerful images in modern politics, that of Margaret Thatcher's poster of a large dole queue accompanied by the slogan "Labour isn't working". What would she make of the inactivity and wastefulness of the Government? How would she portray the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government? Citizens are genuinely annoyed at the shambles in which the Government has left the electoral register. It is time for the Government to get its act together to correct it.