Mark Wall (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the House for the debate on this important motion. I welcome this announcement, given its importance to our democratic process, as referred to by colleagues. The Labour Party will support the motion. It is five months since the Electoral Reform Act 2022 was passed but its four independent members are only being appointed today. Will the Minister of State inform the House if there is a reason for the delay in the nomination process and what happened in that interim period? We now have the names of the nominees in front of us. Will he also indicate what work has been completed in the period since July. I know much work needs to be completed. What work is intended to be done in the coming months? What are the timeframes? Colleagues have referred to a final report being concluded in June or July. Will the Minister of State confirm what he knows about that?

The four people nominated are Ms Quinn, Mr. Curran, Mr. Attwood and Professor Fennell, and I welcome their expertise and the gender balance. I know of no reason these individuals should not be nominated. I am aware of their expertise and how important that will be for the vital and important tasks they have ahead of them. This expertise will only assist in this important process. I wish them well in that work. They have an important job to do on behalf of the State.

I concur with colleagues who have raised the importance of maintaining county boundaries, where possible.I speak as someone who experienced this situation and was unable to vote in one election in 2016. The rules were changed again in the following election. This causes a great deal of strife and anger, particularly when the announcements are made after the event. I refer to situations where those voting are not aware that they will be voting in a different county. This causes problems, as other Members have already stated, concerning the boundaries of county councils, etc. Where possible, I know that the commission will look at this aspect because it does cause a lot of strife.

A question was asked about public consultation. I am not sure what public consultation can be undertaken concerning county boundaries, but people only finding out they are no longer voting in their own county on the day of the announcement of the report is not a good place to be. Public consultation prior to that would allow people to know that such a possibility was being discussed and this would mean a lot to many. It will allow them to be part of the process as well, which is also important.

As other Members have done, I also wish to mention this age of communications we are in now. Internationally, we have seen the effect online advertising has had on the democratic process. The commission has a body of work to do in this regard. It is important that it recognises what has happened in other jurisdictions. I am sure the commission will look at this context. Equally, the commission is responsible for increasing public participation in our electoral system. This is another part of its remit. Voter education is key to our election process, as is greater voter participation on election days. This is also important, and I am again asking whether there will be public consultation regarding voter registration and public participation on election days and if this is also part of the commission's remit. The Minister of State might confirm whether these aspects are included. It is safe to say that voter education is crucial to the democratic process here and it is vital to our democracy in future.

My other issue is that of the rolling register. I spoke to my local authority regarding this issue in recent weeks. As was also mentioned by one of my colleagues, panic sets in during the run-up to an election. I am not sure if these dates have been tied down or if the commission will be examining the deadlines set for people to register to allow them to have and exercise their democratic rights and vote on election days. I do not know if these dates are changing or if this aspect will be considered by the commission. It is important, however. Many people fail to vote and then panic that they do not have the ability to vote when it comes to a referendum or Dáil and local elections. The Minister of State might respond to confirm if this matter will be a part of the commission's remit.

I again welcome this important work and wish the four nominees well. I look forward to reading the report. The Minister of State might confirm when it is expected to be published.