John Cummins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I support amendment No. 1 tabled by Senator Fitzpatrick. I have also been the victim of those mysterious reappearing posters that manifest throughout the country. It is certainly not confined to Dublin. I am sure it is reflected in practice throughout the entire country.

I do not have a strong view on this one way or the other. I see the merits and demerits of what is proposed. Anyone involved in electoral politics will speak about the hassle of getting posters together and getting them put up and taken down and say it is something we could all do without. Equally, on the other side, face recognition is very important particularly for new candidates. We must also be mindful that while we all try to reuse posters sometimes during the electrical cycle we change. I think back to my 2009 electoral posters when I was 21. I do not think I would be recognisable. Certainly I had more hair than I do now. We have to be mindful and cognisant of the reality of the ageing process.

The programme for Government committed to the establishment of a new electoral commission. This is before the Dáil at present. It is the intention of the Government that the new electoral commission will carry out a body of work within 12 months of being established. It will examine some of these issues, particularly election posters. It will bring forward proposals prior to the local elections in 2024. This is to be welcomed. Having a permanent statutory electoral commission is something that has been broadly welcomed on all sides of the political divide.

Senator Fitzpatrick referenced the electoral register. This is something about which I was quite vocal during pre-legislative scrutiny of the Electoral Reform Bill. We still have work to do on this. The proposal is that we write to people three times to see whether they no longer reside at a property. This needs to be done within a statutory time period. Unless we do so, we will continue to see an inflated register that this is not reflective of the people who reside in a locality.

I welcome that we will introduce a connection with PPS numbers. We need to move full square to this system within a short period of time. Unless we do so, we will continue to have an inaccurate register. All of us in politics acknowledge this is a particular problem. An inaccurate register has a knock-on effect on percentage turnout rates. They might seem particularly low but in reality they are probably much higher because people do not live in the locality, are deceased or are no longer in the country. The work of reconciling PPS numbers with those residing in locations needs to be carried out within a statutory time period. I do not see a need for a parallel system that does not contain PPS numbers. We all get a PPS number when we are born or move to the State. It is an accurate way to go. I understand an impact assessment must be carried out on this and the Department is working on this. For the future of our democracy, getting the electoral register correct is one of the most important things we can do as legislators. This is why I feel the Electoral Reform Bill 2022, which is before the Dáil and will come before the Seanad, is of the utmost importance.

It is important that the new electoral commission examines the issue before us with regard to posters and takes on board the suggestions made in good faith by Senator O'Reilly and her colleagues. I do not have a strong view one way or another. The difficulties and challenges are there for everybody involved in electoral politics.It is never any harm to question, challenge and change things. Nothing stays the same. Perhaps the days of restricting election posters are upon us. I am sure this is an issue the electoral commission will take a strong view on.