John McGahon (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is great to have the students from St. Oliver's in Drogheda here. They are very welcome to Leinster House and I hope they have a great day with Deputy O'Dowd.

I have two issues to reference about the local elections. We must do something about spoiled ballots where the polling clerks are not stamping ballots correctly. I accept they are there from 7 a.m. until 10 p.m. and that human error happens.However, it is wrong that somebody can go to the trouble of voting and filling in a ballot paper correctly only for the vote not to be counted because of human error on the part of the count staff who are paid to be there. It is a matter for the Electoral Commission to try to come up with a way that issue can be resolved. People are being disenfranchised where their democratic votes, filed correctly, are not counted.

I pay tribute to the Fine Gael councillors elected in County Louth. Each election is historic in its own right. Councillor Ejiro O'Hare Stratton has become the first lady from Africa to be elected to Louth County Council. She came to Ireland 33 years ago to work as a nurse. Many of us in this House know Councillor Anne-Marie Ford. She has been a champion for early intervention and appeared before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Autism. Councillor Dolores Minogue sadly lost her mother, Mary Cunningham, a day after she was elected to Louth County Council. Councillor Paula Butterly was elected for the first time. Also elected was Councillor Robert Nash, whose family served in the Lower House for 34 years between 1927 and 1961. His great grandfather James "The Duker" Coburn was elected as an Irish National League TD and then a Fine Gael TD. He was succeeded by his son, George, in a by-election in 1953. Councillor John Reilly was elected in Dundalk-Carlingford. It was a very good result and I am pleased for everybody with the courage and confidence to put himself or herself up for election in this country. My God did the centre hold in these local elections, which is something to be proud of.