asked the Minister for Local Government if he is aware that a number of persons who are unable to negotiate the stairs leading to the polling stations at Dún Laoghaire Town Hall due to reasons of ill health or otherwise are deprived of the franchise; and the action he intends taking in the matter.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Dún Laoghaire Town Hall Polling Station. Conditions at Polling Stations.
11.
The selection of buildings to be used for polling stations is a matter for the local returning officer for the constituency concerned. The suitability for voting purposes of the Town Hall, Dún Laoghaire, has been questioned but I understand from the local returning officer that he was unable to obtain suitable alternative premises in the locality.
This is a matter of grave concern to the people there. My Question quite definitively states that people are prevented from voting arising out of the Everest-like stairs which they have to challenge to get to the polling stations. I am concerned about disabled people and ill people generally who cannot meet this stairs challenge. Now we are told——
The Deputy is again indulging in making a long Statement.
I am making a short, brief statement to get my point across.
A statement of any kind is not in order at Question Time.
Is the Minister aware that there is an alternative site to the Town Hall which will be available in September? If I give these facts to the Minister—obviously he does not have his full facts before him—will he let the people concerned know that there is an alternative site available?
I have a surprisng number of facts Which Deputy Andrews might not like to hear, one of them being that those premises were used as a polling station for many years when the Fianna Fáil Government were in power and they did not do anything about it.
(Interruptions.)
Secondly, before this election took place I notified all the returning officers in the following manner :
The Minister is most anxious that every effort should be made to facilitate voting by incapacitated persons, particularly those confined to wheelchairs. He has requested that polling stations should be selected with a view to easy access for such persons and should in all cases be located on the ground-floor.
The returning officer in the area concerned said he was not able to obtain alternative accommodation and since the election could not be postponed until next September, when Deputy Andrews says, this will be available, I am afraid he will have to put up with what happened.
My colleague in the constituency wants to ask a supplementary question.
People in this area had to negotiate 50 steps up to the polling room. This is one of the largest polling stations in the country, with nearly 6,000 electors. Representations were made to the former Minister for Local Government but were ignored. In fact, representations were made over the past seven years in this matter. Perhaps the City Sheriff, Mr. Desmond Moran, and the returning officer might exercise some imagination in the matter and take heed of the many complaints which all Deputies in the constituency have regarding this polling station. I can assure the Minister we cannot even find the polling stations in some parts of the constituency.
I deplore the fact that a number of people were apparently prevented from voting because they could not avail of the facilities offered. I propose to ensure that before the next general election comes off in 1978 I will have this matter looked into.
Is the Minister aware that the situation out there is so serious that one Fine Gael Deputy did not know where one of the polling stations was actually located for the Presidential election?