Ulick Burke (Fine Gael)

I wish to share my time with Senator Cummins. I support the motion before the House. As the Minister of State, Deputy Noel Ahern, has just said it would be ideal if we had cross-party agreement on how the register can be improved and reached a consensus on a reasonable and responsible way to tackle the problem. He has argued that if we are experts on anything, it is on the voting register. However, if we claim to be experts, we should be able to make substantial improvements to it between now and next November, or at the latest, three months later, when the final register is published. In that period of time, we should be capable of doing a good job on the current register.

With regard to the possibility that 800,000 people are on the register who should not be, it is quite possible that the problem is far more serious in large urban centres than in rural areas. Many people in rural areas will go to the post office, Garda station or local authority office to find out if they are on the electoral register. That has been the custom for many years, although perhaps the younger generation is not so inclined.

Many people have referred to the fact that every citizen has a PPS number, which could be utilised in the compiling of the register. The old system of registration courts, held throughout the country, lent seriousness to the electoral register issue. They were an excellent way of verifying the authenticity of a person who wanted to vote. Unfortunately, they have disappeared. During the months leading up to the compiling of a new register, registration courts were held in various areas. The national and local press advertised the fact that specific areas were designated for such courts, which were held in towns like Loughrea, Portumna, Ballinasloe and so forth. An official presided over the court and people came up with legitimate reasons as to why, for example, a certain individual should be included on the register. The disappearance of the registration courts is regrettable. Perhaps some mechanism could be found for reinstating them. We can tax our cars on-line with a special PIN number from the car registration office in Shannon. I do not see why we cannot register on-line with a local authority which has on-line facilities with our PPS numbers, which can be easily verified. That may eliminate, in the short-term, vast numbers of people denied a vote.

I agree with the Minister of State that nothing is as revolting as seeing a person with a disability or old age who has made a supreme effort to cast his or her vote, regardless of who it is for, being challenged and turned away. That has happened in the past and caused great concern to elderly people in particular. Young people can walk away and decide it will not happen again. However, an elderly person in certain areas may not have another opportunity. Wider and easier access to a postal vote for elderly people should be examined, or providing another method of voting whereby they can register their vote at a particular time.

Many Senators, including Senator Brady, raised the situation with regard to schools, particularly second-level schools. Through the subjects taught in schools children have access to an element of politics, and work could be done on that. The number of people who reach the age of 18 during their final year in school has increased dramatically. There should be a way in which that information is transferred to the local authority. The information on the number of people who have turned 18 could be transferred in half an hour on a particular day.

How much time do I have remaining?