Cyprian Brady (Fianna Fail)

The enumerators did great work. They have proven they are capable of ensuring the register is correct. The census was a huge success with the majority of addresses being reached and we can build on that in the future.

The extension of the deadline to register by two weeks to 9 December, which was called for by Fine Gael at a meeting of the Joint Committee on the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, was agreed and I do not know about what is the hullabaloo. This will give people an opportunity to ensure they are registered and the attention given to this issue in recent weeks in the media has focused people's minds on it, which is welcome.

The local authorities have until 2 January to make corrections to the register and the legislation provides for them to publish the list of people who have been removed. This will make it easier for people to check whether their names have been removed and, if so, have them reinstated if their cases are legitimate.

Given that 3 million people are registered, this is a considerable and expensive undertaking and the Minister should be congratulated on putting the resources in place to tackle the matter. County registrars can make changes until 12 January and those who are interested will have a legal right to have their cases heard. I am aware of a case recently where a woman was in hospital for a month, the local authority called to her home, sent a second letter, but she was unable to respond. That is a legitimate case. All circumstances must be taken into consideration. While the change to the date will ensure that we have a complete register in February, if we continue to mess around with the date, we will be in trouble every year and be in the same position again in four years or five years.

A number of local authorities, such as Dublin City Council, have made significant efforts. I have encountered enumerators trying to get access and to contact people, leaving notes and calling back at all hours of the day and night, not just between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. because people in many cities work during the day or on a shift basis.

I cannot understand the PPS number argument. There are some 5 million PPS numbers in the country, but only 3 million people are on the register. Citizens of new EU member states have PPS numbers. Should young people of 19 years or 20 years of age who may not have numbers be disenfranchised?