Joe O'Toole (Independent)

This issue is being addressed in the United States prior to the November elections and there is already a great deal of anxiety relating to the types of voting machines that will be used. We can all recall the row about hanging chads in the 2000 presidential election.

I suggest we have a debate where we no longer mention the €67 million that has been wasted on this so far and how much the machines are costing per year. We will say it once and then concentrate on the issue. I think we should move towards electronic voting of a kind in which we can have trust and confidence. This will require a marked paper which can be read like a lottery ticket by a machine and a total calculated. If there are subsequent arguments the paper can be checked. I would like a debate on this issue in a non-party political, non-confrontational manner.