David Cullinane (Sinn Fein)

I make no apology to Senator Mooney for not being straitjacketed by the very narrow confines of this Bill. There is a need to ensure that the Government is not let off the hook in terms of the bigger political reform issues that must be discussed.

For many years I watched the operation of the political system from the outside as a local councillor and saw the Senator's party talk a great deal about political reform but not deliver it. I am sick and tired of the discussions we have on political reform because when it comes to legislation the reform is piecemeal, as the Senator's party agrees. It does not deal with the bigger issues. That is a key point that must be made today and I am happy to make it.

It is disgraceful that the register of electors throughout the State is in rag order. In each county, up to 70% of the people who are eligible to vote are on the register of electors but 30% of them are not. A number of years ago there was an attempt to clean the register of electors and, as the Minister will be aware, people had to contact the local authority to get their names back onto the register. Many people were disenfranchised as a result. People have to go to the local Garda station to get onto the supplementary register before an election. They must fill in forms and bring identification. It can be an impediment to some people getting their names on the register. This amendment seeks to simplify the system. I agree there is a problem with the PPS system. There are over 7 million PPS numbers but the population is considerably less than that. Of course there is a problem, but I still believe it would be a far more efficient way of cleaning up the register of electors.

There is also a change in the housing situation in this country. Many people now live in private rented accommodation. People are more transient and continually move house due to the rent supplement system or the rental accommodation system. Many people forget to change their address when they move from an area and end up not being on the register of electors. When they turn up to vote at a polling station they discover they are not on the register. In fact, they might be on the register but in a different area and are unaware of it. This is the simplest, fairest and most effective way of dealing with it. Every citizen has a PPS number so it makes sense that it is the most efficient means of ensuring people have the opportunity to vote.

In response to Senator Mooney, it was certainly not a conversion for my party in respect of ensuring that the register of electors is sufficient and robust and that its integrity is protected. It is fundamentally important that people have a right and opportunity to vote. Many Senators have been candidates in elections. On the day of an election, one receives telephone calls from many people who are not on the electoral register but who thought they were and who are eligible to vote but who may have moved house for whatever reason. That is wrong and it is a systemic problem which could be easily resolved by accepting our amendment and using the PPS system. It is imperfect but it would be a much better system than that currently in place.