Caít Keane (Fine Gael)

Absolutely not. I agree totally with what the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Shatter, said yesterday on referendums. There is no commitment in the programme for Government for another referendum on the subject in question. There are so many referendums already in the pipeline, including that on the rights of children, and the Government is only one year in office. We have a lot of work to do over five years.

There is no closed door. Many countries, such as Finland and Poland, have models we could examine. Twenty thousand citizens can nominate a candidate in Finland. There is verification only by sight, rather than by computer. I do not agree with that. It is not that I do not trust people in Ireland - in respect of looking at names, for example - but we know what occurs sometimes. I would like a computer system developed that could verify 20,000 nominations, thus making the nomination system easier to administer. The period of 30 days ought to be considered so as to have a level playing field for independent candidates.

I was 20 years on a council and did not like the Whip system for presidential elections because it is a non-party office. One could argue there should be a free reign. The presidency was never in the grasp of the Fine Gael Party. In this regard, I could look to other parties. I would not say, "Long may it last", as do Senators on the other side of the House.