Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 531: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government further to various parliamentary questions, when it was decided to re-examine the e-voting system; the person on whose instructions the decision was taken; the persons with whom consultations took place in view of the previous indicators to the effect that the system is unreliable; the name of the firm of consultants who have been given the responsibility for the re-evaluation; their terms of reference and any briefing given to them prior to or since their appointment; the person by whom it was given; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23877/06]

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The Government, in May 2005, agreed to a programme of further assessment, testing and validation of the electronic voting and counting system. This programme is intended to address issues raised by the Commission on Electronic Voting (CEV) and demonstrate that the system operates reliably, securely and accurately.

The programme includes the commissioning of a security and risk assessment of all aspects of the system (security measures and in-built protections of the voting equipment hardware and the integrated election software, a review of PC security and system hardening, and a risk analysis of the potential for internal or external interference) and the development of a programme of additional testing. The consultancy has been commissioned by my Department and, following an open procurement process, is being undertaken by Rits Information Security. The work to date has included liaison with officials from my Department, the CEV, Returning Officers, the Local Government Computer Services Board and the system manufacturers.