andMr. White asked the Minister for the Environment if he will grant postal voting facilities to merchant seamen who number about 2,000.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Merchant Seamen Voting Facilities.
12.
The question of postal voting facilities for merchant seamen would fall to be considered in the context of postal voting generally. There are no proposals at present for a general extension of postal voting.
Now that it has been brought to the Minister's attention would he consider a proposal from this side of the House to look seriously at it? In the seaboard constituencies we have substantial numbers of those people and it is aggravating for citizens not to have the right to vote. I appeal to the Minister to have this matter examined as quickly as possible.
As I said, there are no proposals at present to do anything about this matter. There was an extension of postal voting facilities in the 1974 local elections. When we were talking about the European Elections Bill both sides of the House agreed that there were many abuses in 1974 and both sides agreed that there should not be any further extension of postal voting because of experiences at that time. There are definitely no proposals at present to extend the postal voting.
Would the Minister not agree that the abuses which occurred could easily have been stopped and that in his Department there are the necessary regulations prepared to prevent most of the abuses which occurred and which are no credit to either of the parties concerned?
I am pointing out that this was the experience and it was agreed there were too many abuses. For that reason, if for no other, there was no urgency about extending it or even considering extending it.
We have all heard of the abuses but nobody has proved that they occurred. If those abuses occurred surely that is not a good argument to prevent people who are entitled to vote from doing so and who could be given the vote with a little bit of consideration?
Any extension could not be confined solely to merchant seamen. If there was an extension there are many other categories which would have to be considered in the same way.
Would the Minister not agree that there already is an exception made with regard to the members of the armed forces and the Garda Síochána and that merchant seamen, in particular, constitute a similar type of category? By physical definition of the nature of the work they are unable to be in the State let alone adjacent to a polling station. Would the Minister not agree that to plead that this would open the door for every other category of postal voter is not really accurate and within the context of the safeguards that would exist on board for such a provision he has the existing avenue of the provision of postal voting for the armed forces and the Garda Síochána? In that light would he reconsider the matter?
I do not know if the avenues would be the same as for the Garda Síochána and the armed forces because merchant seamen, because of the type of occupation they have, will be in many parts of the globe. As I told the Deputy there are no proposals at the moment for any change but that does not prevent me from having a look at it. I see the difference between a merchant seaman and a commercial traveller who is in the country and the similarity between merchant seamen and naval personnel to a large extent.
Will the Minister look at it?
I have said I will.
Merchant seamen are a registered body of people. This is not like, as Deputy Quinn pointed out, an extension to everybody. Those people are listed and we know who they are. There is no room for any abuse and I appeal to the Minister to look at this matter immediately.
I do not know why so many people are anxious to prevent people who are entitled to vote from voting.
I am not trying to prevent people from voting.
The Minister referred to commercial travellers. If the Minister is extending the postal vote system will commercial travellers be considered?
I only mentioned commercial travellers as one category who might be in the same boat. There are many more categories besides commercial travellers.