Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)

——I believe him to be a person of impeccable credentials and I know he is sincere in regard to his political work. If he wants to leave an imprint on the Government this can be his legacy and I will support him 100% in that regard. I want to see democracy funded, with people participating in it. I also want to see Irish politics clean. The way to do it is to bring the electoral commission into being and have accountability.

Senator Coffey referred to the electoral register. We should implement his suggestions although I do not necessarily agree with the concept of forcing people to register. We are a democracy but I am willing to go along with new measures. If the PPS system works or if people are forced to sign up to the register and fined for failure to do so, let it be because we need to enhance people's co-operation. One way that can be done is by not having electronic voting. There is nothing better than having a count with the peann luaidhe and the pen. Last night we watched MSNBC until 7 a.m. There was a core computer printer and a code analyst but not the cut and thrust of the count. We have all been there: one is on the verge of winning or losing, and a vote shifts here or there, but there is accountability. There is no greater buzz than that of election count day, whether one is winning or losing. We have all had the good and bad days.

I was amazed that so many Acts are involved in this process — the Minister, Deputy Gormley, stated there are perhaps 27. Let us have an electoral commission. Let us have one body that runs the whole operation. However, I do not want us to throw out the baby with the bath water. There are many local government officials who have been involved in elections and have done a great job in the counting of votes. I thought one of the best ideas was to get rid of canvassing on polling day and stop people giving out literature outside the gates of polling stations. I did this since I was a child but I thought it was the greatest waste of time.