Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 26 Oct 2005

Vol. 608 No. 4

Adjournment Debate.

Postal Services.

Mr. Eamon Ryan

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Gallagher, for taking this matter on behalf of his senior Minister. What is it about the Minister, Deputy Noel Dempsey, that trouble seems to follow the poor man around? Whatever Ministry he has been in, controversy, whether due to his own actions or otherwise, has never been far away.

This issue is of critical importance for the 10,000 plus workers in the company and for the hundreds of thousands of people who rely on the services of An Post. From observing this situation evolve over the past three years, no progress has been made in that time. The Government and the institutions of the State have been unable to resolve the key difficulty between management and unions regarding work practices. Can the Minister of State answer on behalf of the Minister as to what exactly the Minister now intends doing?

It was interesting yesterday to hear the Taoiseach speak at length in the Dáil on the issue and the lengths to which he said the Minister, Deputy Noel Dempsey, has gone in negotiations with the unions to try to broker some type of agreement. Meanwhile the Minister, Deputy Noel Dempsey, last weekend made some remarkable comments about the possible future development of the company. In his closing remarks on that occasion, he said he would not get involved because otherwise there would be a huge amount of trouble in regard to social partnership if he started to circumvent or change Labour Court decisions. It seems the Government is having it both ways. The only matter about which there is a degree of certainty was his further comments whereby it seems the action he intends to take, if a strike proceeds as threatened by the CWU, would result in, as the Minister puts it, a demand from the public because of the lack of a service for a speeding up of the liberalisation of the postal service and that would mark the demise of An Post as we know it. I am sure that threat, if made, was not lightly made. The Minister must have given serious consideration to such a remarkable statement about an important social and economic service provided by the State. Despite liberalisation under EU directives, An Post still has a universal service obligation as our main provider, which will continue after 2009 and which is best provided by a State company managed in a proper fashion. It is clear that is not what we have had in recent years.

We have had a problem at boardroom level in that the board, appointed by the Government, has had no involvement in the strategic development of the company. The management has taken a company that was cash rich and was investing significantly in capital into one that is in utter financial crisis and such capital investment seems to have been wasted. There seems to be an inability between the management and the unions, despite lengthy negotiations at the Labour Court, to agree on work practices that need to be changed. The Government seems to be indicating that the only possible outcome from this stalemate is the demise or early break-up of the company, prior to further liberalisation.

Given such incredible, remarkable, strong and forthright comments from the Minister, we need some clarity on those positions as to what exactly he intends doing. If a strike occurs, is it his intention to effectively liberalise the market far more rapidly and bring in new operators? Has the long negotiation process around work practices come to an end? Has the process involving the Labour Court and the other institutions of bargaining and negotiation come to an end or, if not, what is the alternative way forward?

Currently only 78% of letters are delivered the next day as against the 94% target. The Minister outlined that the company finds itself constrained in terms of paying overtime in some instances where overtime is not worked. There are instances where pensioners and other workers in this company have not been paid — unlike almost every other worker in the State -the proper pay under Sustaining Progress. Such a situation is a sign of a dysfunctional company operated by a dysfunctional Government.

Minister of State at the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources (Mr. Gallagher)

I apologise to Deputy Eamon Ryan and the Members present on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Noel Dempsey, who is unable to be here. I will respond on his behalf to this matter and I thank the Deputy for raising it.

The Minister and the Government are fully committed to An Post remaining a strong player in the Irish postal market and recognise the invaluable contribution made by An Post and its staff down through the years, both in terms of their input to the overall business environment and the role played by both rural post offices and postmen and postwomen in maintaining the social fabric of rural society.

However, in order to be strong, the company must be financially viable. As the Minister stated previously in the House, the reality is that the company has suffered significant losses in recent years starting with €6.7 million in 2001, rising to €17.4 million in 2002 and then reaching an unsustainable level of €42.9 million in 2003. This sort of financial performance, if allowed to continue unchecked, would have bankrupted the company. The reality is that the company needs to introduce modern work practices if it is to thrive in a competitive environment. An Post will face more rather than less competition in coming years and it needs to be geared to address this challenge.

I take this opportunity to set out the lengthy background to the current industrial relations situation at An Post and to impress upon Deputies that this situation has not arisen over night. An Post has been through one of the most intensive industrial relations processes imaginable. This process started when, following the disclosure of serious losses for 2003, the Government asked the board and management of An Post to prepare a recovery strategy in order to return to financial solvency. The plan involved changes in work practices and voluntary job losses and was presented to the An Post unions in late 2003.

Around the same time, in recognition of the dire financial situation facing the company, An Post invoked the inability to pay clause under Sustaining Progress. This was followed by industrial action in the Dublin mail centre in March 2004. The Labour Relations Commission brokered settlement proposals, which involved negotiations on collection and delivery and in the event of non-agreement in the LRC, referral to the Labour Court.

Both parties spent from April to November 2004 in the LRC. The proposals arising out of the LRC were put to members of the CWU and turned down. The outstanding issues were then referred to the Labour Court for resolution. On foot of union concerns that An Post management had no real experience of the postal sector, the Labour Court appointed a three-person expert group to come up with a workable proposal on collection and delivery that would be acceptable to members of the CWU. This group spent six months working on a comprehensive proposal on this area which was published in July 2005. In early 2005, the An Post group of unions referred the non-payment of Sustaining Progress to the Labour Relations Commission as provided for under the Sustaining Progress agreement. The LRC appointed assessors to examine the claim. The assessor's report recommended that, having regard to An Post financials, 5% should be paid to employees backdated to 1 January this year. This recommendation was accepted by An Post management and rejected by CWU. Having received the report of the three-person expert group, the Labour Court issued a comprehensive recommendation which outlined that the acceptance of the deal on collection and delivery would trigger payment of the bulk of Sustaining Progress.

The Labour Court recommendation was considered by the executive of the CWU but was not put to a ballot of members. Instead the union decided to ballot for strike action on the non-payment of Sustaining Progress. The membership has voted for strike action and the union has given two weeks' strike notice. It is not clear at this stage what type of action this will be. As the Taoiseach and Minister, Deputy Noel Dempsey, have both outlined, the way to resolve the industrial relations issues in An Post is to engage on the basis of the Labour Court recommendation. This is necessary to bring about the essential modernisation of the company which is the best way of securing long term sustainable jobs for An Post workers and ensuring the continuation of a high quality nationwide postal delivery and post office service.

There is no doubt the decision by the CWU to take industrial action will impact on both personal and business customers. An Post is preparing contingency and communications plans to deal with the forthcoming industrial action which will address, in particular, the needs of social welfare recipients and provide information to customers regarding postal services.

On the liberalisation question, the competitive pressure on An Post is not in the future but in the here and now. Large international companies such as Royal Mail and the German post office already operate in the Irish market. If An Post cannot meet consumer needs and deliver a high quality of service, these companies will be more than happy to ramp up their operations here to fill the gap.

Time is not on the side of An Post and its workers. Some member states such as Finland and Sweden have already fully liberalised their postal markets and others are in the process of doing so. The momentum for liberalisation already exists. If An Post does not start to restructure, it will not be in a position to meet the competitive challenges of a fully liberalised postal market, and that is why the company's modernisation must start now.

Job Losses.

Mr. Stanton

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for allowing me to raise this matter. I speak on behalf of the town of Youghal which in recent years has experienced substantial job losses: 230 jobs in Artisan Technology, 130 jobs in Eastman Kodak and 40 jobs this week in Seafield Technical Textiles Limited which has decided to close.

I am concerned that there does not appear to be any urgency on the part of the State agencies or the Government to attract additional industry to Youghal. The town is an attractive coastal one in east Cork with much in its favour. Recently we have all lobbied for a new swimming pool and community school, both of which will proceed and be beneficial. However, people in Youghal must leave the town every morning and drive to Carrigtwohill, Cork city, Fermoy and Dungarvan for employment purposes. This has a knock-on effect on businesses in Youghal. I ask the Minister to use his good offices and those of the Government, IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland to encourage and attract industry to Youghal. A number of small industries in the town would work wonders.

That Bord Gáis is not in the town acts as a disincentive to industry. There is a chicken and egg scenario in this because Bord Gáis will not supply the town unless there is industry and industry will not locate until there is a gas supply. Perhaps the Minister can shed some light on that conundrum and help us resolve it. I am informed that broadband will arrive in the town shortly.

It would also help if the National Roads Authority would look at Castlemartyr because that village between Youghal and Cork city badly needs to be bypassed. I have written to the NRA on many occasions about it. There are tailbacks more than a mile long every evening and it is worse on summer Sundays. That acts as a disincentive for industry to locate to Youghal. I ask the Minister to dust down that file and have a chat with the NRA. Perhaps he would come back to me on the timescale and procedure for bypassing Castlemartyr and, thus, bring Youghal closer to Cork city and make it more attractive.

If decentralisation were to come to the town, it would help as it would bring more people. I would hope they would live and work there. Property prices in the town are still manageable. As part of the overall package, perhaps the Minister would let the House know what is happening in that regard and the timescale.

At one stage Youghal had full employment and was a thriving manufacturing base. Unfortunately the type of industry there and in many other centres is leaving owing to international competition. Seafield Technical Textiles Limited produced Gore-Tex type fabric used for military uniforms, postbags and so on. It has come under pressure from eastern European imports. When the Irish Army produced a new uniform some years ago, it was regrettable it did not use the top class Gore-Tex type cloth produced in Youghal for the uniform. Instead the cloth was imported from China and tailored in eastern Europe.

Altana Pharma, a company that located in Carrigtwohill, was not encouraged by IDA Ireland to locate in Youghal. Having looked at the town, it was a disappointment the company did not locate there. I am concerned about the policy of IDA Ireland to promote small provincial towns such as Youghal. Is it Government policy that people would live and work in their own area and cut down on traffic and congestion on the roads, something the Minister would like to see happening? I await his response with hope. We are all working together to try to benefit our areas. At this time of year when the tourists have left, Youghal goes into the doldrums, a matter I would like to see reversed.

Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government (Mr. Roche)

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue and apologise on behalf of the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Martin, who unfortunately cannot be present. The Minister has asked me to say how concerned he is that Seafield Technical Textiles Limited has announced that owing to adverse trading conditions, it has become necessary to cease trading with the loss of 38 jobs. He is conscious of the adverse effects on workers in Youghal of these job losses and other job losses in recent years.

Seafield Technical Textiles Limited manufactures technical fabrics for industrial and specialised apparel. Most of the production is exported. The company has experienced difficult trading conditions over recent years, but these have become even more acute during 2005. In common with other companies in the sector, customers have switched sourcing their supply of goods to lower cost economies.

Management at the company had tried to diversify into new markets and new product areas. The company has also tried to cut costs, including putting staff on three-day week schedules. However, the rate of decline of its present customer base during 2005 means that the drain on cash is too severe to give the company time to recover through diversification. The last quarter of the company's financial year is usually the busiest period and management delayed the decision to close to see if a seasonal increase in orders from September would arise. However, this did not occur and I understand the company was left with little option but to close. FÁS has contacted the company and the full range of FÁS services are being offered to the staff.

Unfortunately, the investment decisions of some companies are influenced by the competitive attractions of alternative geographic locations. As with most other European countries, there are areas of activity in which Ireland's competitiveness is seriously challenged. In the main these are areas where availability of capable lower cost locations makes costs the primary driver behind business decisions.

The industrial development agencies will make every effort to secure alternative employment for the area and I will convey the specific comments made by Deputy Stanton re gas and so on. IDA Ireland promotes east Cork to potential investors on an ongoing basis and every effort is being made to secure further advanced knowledge-based industry for the east Cork area, including Youghal. IDA Ireland will continue to promote east Cork actively to potential investors from across the full range of IDA Ireland targeted sectors such as pharmaceuticals, medical technologies, information and communications technologies and internationally traded services.

In addition to attracting new foreign direct investment, IDA Ireland continues to work closely with its existing clients in Youghal and east Cork to encourage them to expand their operations in the area. There are currently 137 IDA-assisted companies in County Cork employing in excess of 18,500 people. Over recent years, in terms of new foreign investment in east Cork, pharmaceuticals, medical technologies and internationally traded services are among the area's strongest performers. I have seen for myself that the economy of the general area is strong. Such investments are attracted to east Cork due to the availability of a high quality workforce, a well-developed infrastructure and very positive business environment. In the period from 2002 to 2004, more than 50% of all jobs announced in Cork came from companies locating in the broader east Cork area. Due to its proximity to the greater Cork area, Youghal has also benefited from this development. As Deputy Stanton has said it is an extraordinarily attractive place to live and rear a family.

Enterprise Ireland works with just under 750 client companies in County Cork, which according to the Forfás Annual Employment Survey 2004, employ a total of 19,617 people. Approximately 140 of these companies are in the east Cork area, including Youghal, with a total employment of approximately 3,700. Enterprise Ireland has worked closely with community groups in the towns of east Cork including Youghal, to foster further embryonic enterprise and to encourage young graduates to set up businesses in their own localities. Enterprise Ireland has approved feasibility study funding to explore the possibility of a community enterprise centre in Youghal. I am sure if that comes about it would be a very positive development.

Mr. Stanton

Yes, it would.

Mr. Roche

On behalf of the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Martin, I assure the House that the State development agencies, including the local county enterprise board, under the auspices of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, will continue to work closely together and with local interests in promoting Youghal and the surrounding area for further job creation and investment. I will pass on the point the Deputy made about decentralisation of the NRA, which is under the aegis of the Minister for Transport, Deputy Cullen. I will also pass on the points made about gas supply and Altana Pharma to the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Martin.

Social Welfare Benefits.

Mr. Costello

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for permitting me to raise this issue today. A number of elderly people in particular have contacted me about letters they have received from the Department of Social and Family Affairs stating that their entitlement to the annual winter fuel allowance of €12.90 per week, as it is in Dublin, is now terminated. These people are tenants of Dublin City Council living in centrally controlled and centrally heated communal complexes. On average they pay €6 or €7 per week for 52 weeks or a minimum of €300 to the local authority. At the same time the fuel allowance operated by the Department of Social and Family Affairs lasts for 29 weeks from September to mid April. They were receiving this allowance which was worth approximately €375 per person per year.

I understand approximately 237 people have been identified by the Department of Social and Family Affairs as being in receipt of both benefits. This was determined in a trawl by the Department. I do not know how the trawl was initiated and how it was suddenly discovered after so many years — I would like to know for how many years this operated.

In total the €12.90 per week for 29 weeks of the year amounts to approximately €90,000 per annum. We are not talking about large sums of money and there is no question of fraud. This matter was raised by Deputies Upton and Quinn on 5 October. Last week I was sitting in the Chair when the Minister for Social and Family Affairs addressed the matter. He explained the Department's thinking on the matter. He did not give any indication of how the trawl came about. He expressed some sympathy for the people and said he would review the situation, as was his response to Deputies Upton and Quinn. Some 274,000 households are in receipt of the fuel allowance. The 237 people involved represent less than 0.1%. We are talking about very small numbers. These are virtually all elderly or disabled as otherwise they would not receive the fuel allowance.

Why should we not give them a Christmas box? Nobody was aware of the anomaly up to now. Nobody is complaining about it or suggesting they are being discriminated against. However, the old and disabled people in receipt of the allowance are sorely missing it since it has been withdrawn. They are missing the extra heat. Elderly and disabled people need such extra heat to which they had become accustomed. They are not to blame for what was an anomaly or an error in the Department of Social and Family Affairs.

I appeal to the Minister to do the generous and honourable thing and allow those 237 people who are in need of as much heat as they can get for the 29 months during which the fuel allowance is payable to retain it so that they can put on a fire occasionally and have the extra bit of heat that makes life tolerable.

Mr. Roche

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. It is an interesting case and as he stated no fraud was intended on the part of the 237 households. However, because of a glitch they were effectively receiving a double allowance for the same purpose. The aim of the national fuel scheme is to assist householders who are in receipt of long-term social welfare or Health Service Executive payments towards meeting their additional heating needs during the winter season. Fuel allowances are paid for 29 weeks from the end of September to mid-April. Some 274,000 customers, 151,000 with basic fuel allowance and 123,000 with smokeless fuel supplement, benefit under the scheme at a cost of €85.4 million in 2005. In that context €700,000 is a small amount.

Under the scheme a fuel allowance of €9.00 per week is paid to eligible households during this 29-week winter heating period, with an additional €3.90 per week being paid in the designated urban smokeless fuel zones, bringing the total amount in those areas to €12.90 per week. In addition to fuel allowance, more than 300,000 pensioners and other households qualify for electricity or gas allowances through the household benefits package, payable towards their heating, light and cooking costs throughout the year, at an overall cost of €108.8 million in 2005. There is also a facility available through the supplementary welfare allowance scheme to assist people in certain circumstances who have special heating needs. To qualify for an allowance under the national fuel scheme an applicant must be in receipt of a qualifying payment, live alone or only with a dependent spouse, partner, child or children, or with other eligible recipients.

In the course of a routine review of fuel allowance payments, the Department recently ceased allowance entitlement which had been paid in error to certain recipients who were in, or had moved to local authority accommodation with subsidised or low-cost heating. The main purpose of the review was to ensure that the allowance eligibility rules were being applied correctly and consistently. The allowances in question, which should not have been put in payment in the first place, were withdrawn in these cases with effect from the start of this winter heating season. The allowance was not included in their new pension books or in EFT payments. The Department is not seeking repayment of the overpayment of the allowance which arose in these cases.

Mr. Costello

That is very generous of it.

Mr. Roche

In other cases it has happened and from the taxpayer's point of view the Deputy understands why that is. There was no fraud by any of these people. As a long-standing policy within the scheme, fuel allowance is not payable to those who are able to provide for their heating needs from their own resources, for example, if they have access to their own fuel supply or benefit from a subsidised heating service such as those provided by Dublin City Council at a number of its housing complexes. The basis for this condition of the scheme is that the contribution that local authority tenants in communal heating situations make towards their heating costs is limited to a fixed and relatively small amount, typically approximately €6 per week, included as part of their overall rent charge. Unlike other tenants and social welfare clients generally, who must buy their own fuel at prevailing retail cost, these tenants are protected from increases in heating costs, the true cost of which are subsidised significantly by Dublin City Council and the other local authorities concerned.

In local authority communally heated dwellings, the subsidised heating is provided from September to May inclusive, which is approximately ten weeks longer than the duration of the national fuel scheme, which runs for 29 weeks from September to mid-April. To ease the burden on the tenant, payments to the local authority are spread over 52 weeks. In addition to heating each room in the flats, the local authority also provides hot water 24 hours a day, each day of the year, the charge for which is also included in the above costs. The central heating provided is not optional. Subsidised heating tends to be available mainly in the older flat-type complexes operated by the local authorities rather than the new individual units being constructed. These latter units typically have their own individual heating systems.

To retain the allowance in the case of the people concerned in this particular review, when neighbouring tenants in very similar circumstances are not eligible and are managing their budgets accordingly, would be difficult to support. The fact is that these people either were awarded an allowance in error initially or retained a previous legitimate allowance entitlement inadvertently when they moved to accommodation subsequently with subsidised heating.

Pensioners and other social welfare groups have received significant increases in their welfare payment rates this year and in recent years under this Government. This has improved their income situation considerably in real terms relative to solid fuel cost increases and to price inflation generally. The higher rates of primary payments are payable for a full 52 weeks of the year, a major change from what was the case previously. In view of the particular circumstances to which the Deputy and others have referred, the Minister has asked his Department to review the cases as a matter of urgency. However, any change to the scheme would have very significant cost implications and would have to be considered in the context of the budget and in the light of the resources available to the Minister for improvements in social welfare generally.

Mr. Costello

The cost implications are not significant. It would cost less than €750,000.

Electoral System.

Ms F. O’Malley

I am grateful to the Ceann Comhairle for choosing this topic for the Adjournment debate. The report of the Democracy Commission, published today and entitled Engaging Citizens, describes itself as a "timely audit of the state of democracy in Ireland". Indeed, it is timely, given that it is 18 months until the next general election and this report asks us, as the people who will run that election, what we can do to engage citizens and make democracy more relevant to them.

The commission's research shows that while people are somewhat disillusioned and disenchanted, they are not disengaged. That is something we must be pleased about. The report also refers to the fact that many politicians share that disillusionment and, as a Government backbencher, one often feels disenfranchised in many ways. One can become frustrated by the political process when one sees people who can make decisions not making them as quickly as one might like.

Several recommendations in the report are worth further discussion, in particular the question of citizenship and what it means. The commission believes that "citizenship of the future is likely to rely more on loyalty to democratic institutions and the rule of law than on an identity based on birth, language and religion". It is time that we all recognised that fact. However, in recognising it, we need to make sure that those democratic institutions have absolute integrity.

That brings me to the recommendations of the commission on the running of elections. It recommends the establishment of an independent electoral commission, something we should examine because we need to have an election process that is separate from the political process.

Another recommendation relates to the electoral register, which we all recognise as being the most fundamental element of our system of democracy. It states who is eligible to vote but, as the Minister stated in response to a question some time ago, the level of inaccuracy therein is significant. In the Minister's response he indicated that there were 3.002 million people eligible to vote but the census data for the same period indicated that there should have been only 2.71 million voters. This represents an enormous difference of approximately 300,000 and in an electoral contest, that figure is considerable.

The commission recommends the introduction of a system of automatic registration based on PPS numbers. The PPS number is an individual, unique identity which every citizen receives. This would ensure 100% accuracy. Only people with PPS numbers should be represented on the electoral register. I have heard the Minister indicate that there are obstacles to such a system, including data protection issues, but such obstacles can be surmounted. Data protection should not stand in the way of an individual's fundamental right to vote. We must recognise which right should take precedence. I urge the Minister to consider introducing such a system because accuracy is what elections are all about and is vitally important.

The report also deals with the question of engaging people in citizenship. The commission indicates that we are alone among people in Europe in not having a political education system from primary level through to second level. I wonder how relevant and central politics is to people. We need to focus not just on schools but also on adult education. We have a very unique and sophisticated voting system. When I was canvassing during the 2002 general election I met 18 year olds who had no idea how to vote. As we know, as professionals, it is a very sophisticated system and keeping somebody out of office is as important as electing a candidate. The voting system can be used in that manner and we need to engage people.

One flaw in the report is its advocacy of gender quotas. I not believe in such quotas and do not think they are the way to go. However I recommend the report and hope we will have further opportunities to discuss its contents.

Mr. Roche

I thank Deputy O'Malley for raising the issue and I assure her that being an ex-Government backbencher is even more frustrating than being a backbencher. I say that as one who has suffered that ignominious situation, when the people of Wicklow turned the other way once.

I welcome the report of the Democracy Commission. The report, entitled Engaging Citizens, is the culmination of over two years of research and consultation throughout the island of Ireland and contains many worthwhile recommendations on how to mobilise voters, particularly those who feel disenfranchised or who do not participate in the democratic process, and how to ensure equal opportunities for voters and candidates alike to fulfil their democratic duties.

I believe that the cynicism that is heaped upon political life in this country must have something to do with disenchantment. It would be a welcome development if the cynics would occasionally enter their names on the election lists. Perhaps there would be much better people in this House if they had that courage. However, frequently, if not invariably, they do not.

The report merits careful consideration and I will reflect on the views, findings and recommendations contained in it. I am pleased to note that some of the measures in the report are currently under consideration in my Department, which is interesting in itself.

We must secure greater participation by the people in the democratic process and the Department and I have been working steadfastly towards that goal. Coincidentally, the publication of this report takes place a few days before the launch of the Department's annual nationwide public information campaign to promote awareness of the draft register of electors. The objective of this campaign is to encourage voters to check the draft register to ensure that they are registered correctly and also to remind them that they cannot exercise their right to vote unless they are registered. For many years political parties did this work by going door to door. I remember the Labour Party coming to my door shortly after I first moved into Greystones to remind me to put my name on the voting register.

Mr. Costello

The Minister should have told them where to go.

Mr. Roche

Indeed, shame on them. The reality is that it was an exercise in real politics and the cynics who often criticise politicians castigated that practice but the situation has worsened since it ended.

There is a collective responsibility on us all as individual citizens to check the register and make sure our details are correct. There is also a clear role for public representatives to promote awareness of the register and the need for individual action. A high quality register of electors is essential for the successful operation of the electoral system and the democratic process. This campaign is an important opportunity for us all to work towards that objective.

I am also considering further measures, including updated guidance in the short-term, to assist and support registration authorities in fulfilling their role in the registration process. This is "genteel-speak" for saying I will encourage them to do their job better than they have been doing. However, we should not lose sight of the positive achievements made. For example, following years of steady decline, the percentage of the electorate who turned out at the latest polls held in June last year for the European and local elections and for the referendum on citizenship, reversed the downward trend. On average, the national turn-out rose from 51% to 59%, which is a good trend.

I noted considerable interest in the recommendation by the commission for the introduction of electronic voting for all elections here. I welcome its view that such a system is well worth introducing for the benefits it will bring. Sadly, there was not a debate on the benefits and whether electronic voting was a better system than the system we had. My Department is undertaking a programme of further assessment and testing of the electronic voting and counting system to address the issues raised by the Commission on Electronic Voting and to demonstrate that the system operates reliably, securely and accurately. I would be deluding myself if I suggested that this will be an easy job because we must rebuild confidence in the system. I doubt if we will use it before the 2007 election.

Furthermore, I welcome the call for greater emphasis on democracy and citizenship in education. My Department has been involved in a number of educational initiatives on this issue and contributed to the development of a transition year course on democracy which was piloted last year. With more courses like this available both at primary, and particularly at secondary level, I foresee a substantial improvement in participation. I agree with Deputy O'Malley that this is something we should take far more seriously.

I thank the members of the Democracy Commission for their tireless dedication to their task. As well as the many other pressures on their time and energy, this is a very worthwhile exercise. I am confident their work will provide a sound basis for further research and concrete actions to improve the democratic process. Above all, I hope it will contribute to a more mature and considered debate on issues and on the institutions and processes of democracy than has been the case in recent times.

The Dáil adjourned at 9.35 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Thursday, 27 October 2005.