Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 11 May 2004
391 Mr. P. McGrath asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the number of electronic voting machines purchased for the proposed introduction of electronic voting; the company or companies from which these were purchased; and the total expenditure on these machines. [13411/04]
View answerSome 7,321 voting machines have been acquired by returning officers from the manufacturer, Nedap NV of the Netherlands. Payment for the machines was made by returning officers at an estimated cost of approximately €40 million, including VAT.
392 Mr. P. McGrath asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the expenditure by his Department in relation to the promotion and advertising of the proposed electronic voting system; the name of the company or companies involved; and the expenditure under this heading in each of the past five years. [13412/04]
View answerFollowing an open competitive tendering process, my Department commissioned the consortium of McConnells Advertising and Q4 Public Relations to undertake a comprehensive nation-wide awareness and education campaign on the introduction of the electronic voting and counting system. In addition to the multimedia dissemination of information on the electronic voting system, a significant element of the campaign is focused on mobilising the electorate to vote on 11 June.
Since the Government decided not to use the electronic voting system at the June polls, the campaign has been suspended, apart from the Get out and Vote element. To date, €1.156 million has been paid towards the cost of the campaign and any outstanding commitments are under consideration.
In advance of the general election in May 2002 and referendum in October 2002, awareness campaigns were also undertaken in the constituencies where electronic voting was used. The total cost of those campaigns, which were undertaken by Carr Communications, was, €533,000.
393 Mr. P. McGrath asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if, in the context of the proposed introduction of the electronic voting system, he will indicate the numbers of staff within his Department who were working on this system; and the estimated expenditure on these staff for this purpose over each of the past five years. [13413/04]
View answerThe franchise section in my Department, which currently comprises ten staff, including two job-sharing officers, is responsible for the electoral legislative codes, the provision of advice to registration authorities and returning officers, servicing the constituency commission and the provision of electoral information to the public. As part of its work, this section was tasked with procuring, developing and delivering the electronic voting and counting system on a phased basis and has been working on the project since 2000. The section was assisted by returning officers, the local government computer services board, the Institute of Public Administration in respect of training and companies engaged to test the equipment and software.
It is not feasible to disaggregate the staff costs that specifically relate to the introduction of the electronic voting and counting system.
