Malcolm Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I join the Minister of State in thanking all of those involved in the electoral process because, without them, we would not have the democracy that we have. While this causes inconvenience to schools, the Minister of State will be aware that one of the primary reasons that I raise this as a concern is the effect on parents. If a school closes and they have existing childcare arrangements, they may need to make different arrangements as a result of the school closing.

I believe the Electoral Commission's review of this needs to be considered. I welcome the fact there is a review but we have been using primary schools forever and it is unfortunate that a number of them remain inaccessible, particularly for those with disabilities. If we are going to continue to require people to go to a specific polling station, then every polling station should be accessible to everybody. We need to look at more flexible ways of allowing people to cast their vote, including the possibility of voting in advance.