Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 11 May 2004
371 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the amount of money that has been paid to the companies providing the machinery for electronic voting and to the experts employed to source the company who provided them. [13169/04]
View answer372 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the amount of money the machines have cost in relation to the electronic voting; the amount of money spent on storing them; and the amount of money that has been spent on the trials of the machines around the country. [13170/04]
View answer373 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the amount of money the electronic voting system has cost to date including all the required machines and publicity of the campaign to implement them. [13171/04]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 371 to 373, inclusive, together.
The total estimated cost of the equipment, software and training related to the electronic voting and counting system is €46.4 million, including VAT. Of this, the cost of the voting machines themselves is some €40 million, including VAT. Recoupment has been advanced from the control fund by the Department of Finance to returning officers who are also responsible for the testing and storage of the equipment for their constituencies in relation to virtually all of these costs. Some €1.15 million to date has been paid on the voter education and awareness campaign. My Department does not have details of estimated storage costs for the voting machines. Where these costs will arise, these are a matter for returning officers.
The company providing the machinery was selected by an open competitive tendering process and the evaluation of tenders for the provision of the electronic voting and counting system was carried out by my Department with the assistance, as necessary, of the Local Government Computer Services Board and returning officers.
