Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 26: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the expenditure on the acquisition and the storage of electronic voting machines to date; if he will scrap electronic voting machines in order to save storage costs and to gain any residual value from their scrappage; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3908/09]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 34: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the steps he will take to prevent further loss to the taxpayer resulting from the storage of the defunct electronic voting systems which are stored throughout the country resulting in annual loss and liability to the Exchequer, in some cases for the next 20 years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3801/09]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 228: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the number of locations throughout the country at which electronic voting technology is stored; the annual cost to the Exchequer of such storage; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4146/09]

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I propose to take Questions Nos. 26, 34 and 228 together.

The total expenditure on the development and roll-out of the electronic voting system to date is some €51.3 million, the bulk of which has been incurred in purchasing the voting machines and ancillary equipment. These costs are set out in the following table.

Responsibility for the security and safe storage of manual voting electoral materials (such as ballot boxes, stamping instruments and stationery) has been a matter for the Returning Officers, who are statutorily responsible for conducting the polls. Accordingly, similar responsibility was assigned to them in relation to the storage of the electronic voting machines and equipment. Based on figures received in my Department from Returning Officers, the total annual costs for storage of the electronic voting equipment (including the cost of insurance, service charges, rates and heating) for 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 were some €658,000; €696,000; €706,000; €489,000; and €204,000, respectively.

In 2007, over 60% of the electronic voting machines (some 4,762 in total) were moved to a central storage facility located at Gormanston Army Camp. Costs incurred to date in respect of the movement and storage of this equipment are some €328,000. These are largely one-off costs related to the preparation of the facility, transportation of the machines and the acquisition of storage containers. The available capacity at this location has now been fully utilised. A total of 2,729 voting machines are stored locally by Returning Officers at thirteen locations throughout the country; a further thirteen machines are stored in the Custom House.

I am aware of the issues that have been raised in relation to storage arrangements for the machines. On this matter, the Government decision to proceed with the movement of the electronic voting equipment to centralised premises was the right approach.

I am at present considering the next steps to be taken in relation to the electronic voting and counting project. In this, I am taking into account the work of the Commission on Electronic Voting, which has examined the system, relevant experiences and developments internationally, the need to maintain public confidence in the electoral process, as well as the provisions in the Programme for Government relating to electoral reform generally.

Given the scale of investment in the system to date, and the importance of the issues involved for our electoral system, it is essential that the future of the project be examined objectively and in a thorough and comprehensive manner. It is important that we come to the best possible decision. It is not possible to make more specific comment at this point on the project itself, or on future plans for the machines, pending the necessary work and a decision by Government in the matter.