Dominic Hannigan (Labour)

Some points were raised regarding the assentors for non-party candidates. I understand that currently, the number of assentors required for a county council election is 15 but that it is higher, possibly 40 or 50, for a Dáil election. That is when one sees busloads of people being brought through the county to county hall. I have a question about the assentors. My understanding from the last occasion, in 2004, is that the assentors had to turn up in person. Is that a misunderstanding? Will the Minister clarify if that will still be the case?

It is difficult for a non-party candidate to get 15 people, especially if they have young families, to take time off and turn up at a place that is, perhaps, 30 miles away. During the last local elections I spoke to a non-party candidate in the Meath electoral area. She had driven almost 30 miles to register at the place of registration. Bringing 15 people makes it more complex and difficult for non-party candidates to put their name on the ballot paper. While I would encourage people to join my party, I respect the fact that non-party candidates can add to the overall electoral process.

It is not clear from the Bill whether the Minister intends to issue guidance on this matter. Section 15(c) refers to "the time and place at which nomination papers may be obtained". Presumably, in this day and age these could be downloaded from computers. It would save people the trouble of having to get in the car and travel to county hall or wherever to get copies of the nomination papers. Surely they could be downloaded from a pdf file from the Internet. Perhaps the Minister would give advice in this regard for local returning officers. We should seek to minimise the distances travelled by candidates and assentors in the local election process and make it as easy as possible so as to encourage more people into the electoral process.

Senator Coffey mentioned people who raise their heads above the parapet. It is a scary place, and once one decides to run there is no going back. We should encourage people to get involved. It is good for democracy. We can do that by making the process simple. I accept that everybody cannot run; one cannot have 4 million people running in the local elections. However, if there are serious potential candidates, we must do what we can to make their path as simple and stress free as possible. We must encourage more people into the system. I hope that after the passage of this legislation the Minister will issue guidance to make matters easier for prospective candidates.