Maire Devine (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit arís. It is good to see him back in the House. I also welcome the use of templates in polling stations in the recent referendums on the eighth amendment and on blasphemy, and the presidential election. It is a welcome move that allows those who are visually impaired to vote without assistance for the first time. It is allows the independence that we should endeavour to provide to all. While it took a High Court case commenced at the beginning of 2017 and the brave efforts of Mr. Robbie Sinnott, who is present in the Gallery, to bring it to this point, it still must be commended. It is a start, albeit under an order from the High Court.

In advance of these statements, I contacted the National Council for the Blind Ireland, NCBI, which has been strategically involved in the roll-out of templates. Having spoken to the NCBI it is clear, and most welcome, that this has been an inclusive process. I commend Department official and the manufacturing company, Pakflatt, who worked constructively with service users to provide templates as seamlessly as possible. However, further and continued consultation is essential as we move from templates in national votes with general use cards to LEA-specific templates.I am not visually impaired but I want to take the Minister of State through what it is like to go to a polling booth with the new template so that we can understand it a little more. There were numerous difficulties and these are what we learn from. Most of those with visual impairment found the template not for purpose, although it was an improvement. First one takes the template here - the "Tá" or the "Níl" - which is more simplified than anything else. It has a serrated edge so that one knows how to match it up with the ballot paper. The ballot paper does not have that serrated edge. That needs to be rectified. The raised print where one reads the "Tá" or the "Níl" needs to be enlarged. It is 1.5 mm and the recommendation is that it go up to 2 mm so that it would be much easier to read. One third of blind people have sensory deprivation in the fingers due to neuropathy, which is quite common for people with blindness.

The Department was informed of the changes that were required following the referendum in May but, unfortunately, nothing was done. We then went on to a bigger vote for the first time, the presidential vote. I have here a template for the presidential vote. It is obviously a lot more complicated than the "Tá" and "Níl" template but it is not as complicated as what will be used in the general election and especially the local elections where one could have 25 to 30 candidates. Again, the template does not have a serrated edge to match with the paper. That is really important. The paper does not have a serrated edge to allow the two to be matched together. That needs to change. One template was submitted on 6 September and was rejected. This template was submitted for the presidential election at the beginning of October. There really was no lead-in time to test it again.

It is totally unsuitable for proportional representation voting. We have six candidates here, one to six. One lines up the template with the paper if one can get the edges together. It is not that easy to do. However, one needs to have a massive, fabulous memory to actually remember where one is to make the mark. Who is number one? One does not know. Who is number two, or three, or four, or five, or six? One does not know. That information was provided on mobile phones but it took two and a half minutes to listen to and one still had to remember it all.

It then gets really complicated when one casts a vote, perhaps for the sixth candidate. That text also needs to increase to 2 mm. If one gets to number six - and obviously Liadh Ní Riada would have been my preferred candidate - and puts a "1" in there, one has no capacity to know that one has already voted in that box. One might vote for the sixth candidate as one's first preference then go to the third candidate, Senator Freeman, as one's second preference. Then one has a number one for the sixth candidate and a number two for the third candidate and one has to go on and on. There are no little window shutters to say that one has filled out a box. One cannot feel that one has done it and there are no windows to say that one has completed it. People are using 10 cent pieces in polling stations. These are slippery and there is a whip-round in polling stations to find 10 cent pieces.

It is still unacceptable and it still disenfranchises people. It does not make us equal in our ability to cast the most important vote that we have, a franchise to which we are entitled. I hope the Minister of State will listen to the people and to the difficulties that were encountered because I dread to think of the next certain election - there may be a general election but the next one that is certain is the local elections - because it will be an absolute nightmare due to the length of the paper and the number of candidates. It is not too costly to change it.

Article 29 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities ensures equal access to persons for political rights, to be enjoyed on an equal basis. We have signed up to an international protocol which commits us to equal access. The refusal to ratify the optional protocol to the convention denies persons who feel their rights are not being realised the opportunity to pursue cases further. This needs to change. The optional protocol should be ratified without any undue delay. One tool to enable equal access is online voter registration. I have spoken before about how outdated and archaic the process is. If the State has confidence that a passport can be renewed securely online, surely there is no reason it cannot have the same confidence in respect of voter registration. An online facility with auditory and visual aids would help people with disabilities to register, but there is nothing online currently. As Senator Dolan recently referenced in the Seanad, 11 constituencies have issues regarding access. The Minister of State talked about ramps, the height of the voting booth and access to the school hall or whatever building is used as the local polling station in his area of Carlow-Kilkenny. The Minister of State has given us an update on that and I hope it is improving.

The postal vote is available to many people with disabilities. I suggest that the Department consider expanding this to the carers who might find it difficult to leave the house on polling day. Accessibility should not just be seen in terms of physical infrastructure inhibitors. Parents of children who have very debilitating illnesses may not be able to leave their homes. In the last debate the Minister of State said that we have a generally high turnout in comparison with Britain. While that is true, if participation policy generally favours one cohort over another, whether that be people without a disability over people with disabilities, older people over younger, upper class over lower class, the settled community over Travellers, or non-convicted people over prisoners, we will see a direct effect from that in terms of public policy and representation. Our turnout might be high but it is skewed in favour of certain demographics.

If we are truly to see all voters as equal, we have a big task of work ahead of us. We cannot continue to deny the right to vote to the most vulnerable in our society. As other Senators have said, we have come a bit of a way. Unfortunately it took a High Court challenge to get this ball rolling. We have a lot more to do and we need to listen to those with real experience on the ground, get them together and go over the simple steps I have outlined in respect of these templates, which are a start but certainly not the finish.