Fiach MacConghail (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister on this sunny day. I have three ambitions today - first, to get some sunshine; second, to get the Minister to accept one of our amendments; and, third, to increase voter turnout, at which I hope he will look. We have gone toe to toe before and his doggedness has come through. What we are looking for is very simple. The ultimate objective of every parliamentarian should be to increase voter turnout which would increase trust between citizens and institutions and participation among citizens.

In today's modern world technology is quite efficient, as is online security. I will make most of my arguments on Committee Stage, but this would be a small but visionary, simple and cost effective way for the Government to acknowledge that times are moving on, that people are now much more mobile, that citizens travel, holiday abroad and work all over the country and that the notion of having a fixed abode is no longer applicable. The Minister has gone some way towards this, but Ireland is still significantly behind many other world democracies. In the United Kingdom the earliest postal ballot papers can be sent out is after 5 p.m. 11 working days before polling day. In the state of Oregon there is nothing but postal voting, although its position different in that it is a large state. In Australia the relevant time is 6 p.m. three days before polling day. This is a wonderful opportunity and I look forward to hearing the Minister's response to our amendments on Committee Stage when we will argue the toss with him.

The deadlines the Minister has given do not acknowledge modern lifestyles. His point about everybody leaving it until the last minute is well made and there is no one better than the Irish to always leave it until the last minute, but that is not a good enough reason not to make it easier because we know there is clear evidence of the increased likelihood of postal voting and supplemental postal voting, an issue I will deal with in detail on Committee Stage. I acknowledge that there is some evidence of fraud but not enough, although I expect the Minister will make that argument. One can argue there is much potential for fraud in the use of ordinary ballot papers.

I would like to hear the Minister's vision on why he would not make it easier for Irish citizens to vote because sine qua non the rate of turnabout will increase and, therefore, voter participation and trust will increase. Ultimately, it is about trust and how we can get citizens to become much more active. I do not think the Minister means it, but this is almost a preventive instrument.

One of the most encouraging things to emerge from the Constitutional Convention is the need for an independent electoral commission which, ultimately, would mean the Minister not coming near us to discuss the date a supplemental postal list should be issued. In fact, we should not be dealing with this issue at all. An independent electoral commission should deal with everything from online registration, postal voting to registering to vote while an election is taking place. I was in North Carolina four or five years ago and noticed that one could register on the day of an election, which has an impact in terms of increasing trust and participation. I know it is outside the remit of the Bill, but I would like to hear the Minister's views. I hope this will be the last time legislators will deal with this type of technical amendment because an independent electoral commission would be the right body to deal with it.