Dinny McGinley (Donegal South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 69: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he is satisfied that the threat of electoral fraud at the next general election due to inaccuracies on the electoral register is sufficiently low; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42536/06]

Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Question 154: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he will vary the stringent regulations for the readmission of voters to the supplementary voting register who were incorrectly removed from the register and still reside at the same address; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42539/06]

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 69 and 154 together.

In law, the preparation of the Register of Electors is a matter for each local registration authority. It is their duty to ensure, as far as possible and with the cooperation of the public, the accuracy and comprehensiveness of the Register; house to house or other sufficient enquiries must be made for this purpose.

In April 2006, I announced a package of measures to assist local authorities in their work on preparing the 2007/8 Register, which included the use of Census enumerators or other temporary personnel to support local authorities in preparing the Register; over 1,500 personnel were engaged in this work.

In addition, my Department worked with a group of local authority managers and senior officials to put in place an enhanced programme for improving the next Register. Detailed procedures for the carrying out of registration fieldwork were finalised and issued to local authorities in early July. The procedures included provision for ensuring that each household was visited and provided with forms and information at least twice, if necessary. In the event that this process did not satisfactorily register the household, written notification would then be given cautioning of the danger of being omitted from the Register.

I also committed to providing additional ring-fenced financial resources to support local authorities' own spending in respect of the register campaign and advised authorities that a contribution of some €6 million can be made available in this regard. An initial allocation of some €3 million, based on the number of households in each local authority area, was made available in July to local authorities for registration work.

As regards publicity and awareness, a two-stage approach was developed, involving information notices followed by an intensive media campaign. Information notices were published in the national press on 19–21 August, urging co-operation with local register campaigns. In addition, a national publicity and awareness campaign involving TV, radio, press and outdoor advertising ran from 11 September.

An online register search facility was made available through local authority websites and a central website www.checktheregister.ie was also set up, containing direct links to each local authority's eReg enquiry screen, to facilitate people in checking that they are on the Draft Register.

New arrangements for the deletion of names of deceased persons from the Register are now in place: the new system allows for the efficient and timely deletion of the names of deceased persons from the Register using the Death Event Publication Service which has been developed by Reach in association with the General Register Office.

New guidance for local authorities on Preparing and Maintaining the Register of Electors was made available to authorities in electronic format on 31 May. Printed copies of the guidance were subsequently sent to all local authorities, returning officers and relevant Government Departments. In the final version of the guidance, the importance of local authorities cross-checking the Register with other databases available to them was stressed.

I provided an additional two weeks — from 25 November to 9 December — to allow persons not on the Draft Register to apply for inclusion on the Final Register to be published on 1 February 2007. That gave people over five weeks — from 1 November to 9 December — to check, and apply for entry on, the Register. Local authorities now have until 2 January to make corrections to the Draft Register; county registrars have until 12 January to make amendments to it and people interested have a legal right to be heard in this regard. I also advanced legislative provision so that lists of persons on the current register but not included on the Draft Register can be made available by local authorities. In addition, a person who is not on the Final Register may apply for inclusion on the Supplement to the Register which closes on the fifteenth day before the next polling day.

Local authorities have carried out an extensive and intensive campaign in respect of the Draft Register for 2007/8, with both significant numbers of additions to, and deletions from, the Register. On this basis, and taking account of the other measures set out above, I am satisfied there will be significant improvement in the accuracy and comprehensiveness of the Register, with a consequent enhancement of the capacity of the Register to assist in the prevention of personation.

Electoral law provides that, at the polling station the returning officer or the presiding officer may, or if required by a personation agent shall, request any person applying for a ballot paper to produce a specified identification document. The range of documents includes commonly accepted forms of identification containing photographs such as a passport, a driving licence, an employee identity card and a student identity card. Other types of specified documents, such as cheque books or cards, and birth or marriage certificates, must be accompanied by further documentation which establishes the address of the holder in the constituency.

If a person fails to produce a required document, or if the returning officer or the presiding officer is not satisfied that the person is the person to whom the document relates, they are not to be permitted to vote. My Department has considerably strengthened the recommendations to returning officers and presiding officers about the frequency of document checking. Prior to 2002, the recommended frequency was 1 in 20; in 2002, this was increased to 1 in 4.

Electoral law also contains other provisions in relation to personation, including a range of offences and penalties in this regard; a new offence was provided for under the Electoral (Amendment) Act 2004 for the unlawful possession or use of a polling information card. I will continue to keep this important matter, including the scope for further improvements, under review.

Finally, there is a need to maintain a proper balance between the requirement to uphold the security and integrity of the electoral process and providing a necessary degree of flexibility. The Supplement to the Register provides an important opportunity for people, who would otherwise not be able to vote, to be included on the Register; at the same time, it is necessary to ensure that appropriate controls are in place in this regard. There are no proposals for amendment of the relevant legislative provisions.