David Cullinane (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I support the Bill and I think it contains a lot of practical and sensible proposals which are worthy of support. Obviously, there is a lot more than can be done and we can have debates on all those issues but I am happy to support the measures in the Bill that I believe will be of benefit to citizens. I support the proposals in this Bill to facilitate the independent voting rights of people with sight loss or who are illiterate.

Clearly, a lot of work has gone into preparing the legislation and those who drafted it consulted closely with people with sight loss for which I commend them. All of us as public representatives host public meetings. I hosted seven or eight public meetings over the past number of years and on possibly four occasions, I had sign language interpreters for deaf people. It is very important to provide services for people who need support. One can claim for hosting the meeting, erecting posters and advertising through vouched expenses but it is not possible to claim for services for deaf people. Perhaps the Minister of State might be able to take up this point with the one-stop-shop or whoever is responsible for those issues. If, as part of our duties, we are hosting events, we should make them as accessible as possible.

The technical aspects of the proposal are complex but presumably they are similar to those operating in other jurisdictions with such systems. While the object of the Bill is to facilitate independent voting, it is good that it preserves the right for visually impaired voters to be assisted by a companion. This is essential as many people, particularly the elderly, including those with visual impairment, would have limited experience with computers and technology. I assume that the provision of computers will constitute the main technical assistance relating to these elections alongside the existing right of visually impaired and illiterate people to have a companion with them to assist them in filling in their ballot paper.

The proposals to allow greater time for people to be registered and then turn up at a polling centre are also sensible and valuable and are to be commended. There are a raft of other changes to existing electoral legislation that are required. The establishment of an electoral commission is still being dealt with by the Oireachtas Joint Committee on the Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht. I think it was discussed this week. It was noticeable that there is general cross-party consensus on the need for such a body. If it cannot be done during the lifetime of this Government, I hope-----