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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Friday, 26 Jun 2015

Vol. 884 No. 3

Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2015: Second Stage [Private Members]

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."

This Bill seeks to make special provision for independent voting by visually impaired, incapacitated and illiterate voters. As matters stand, many visually impaired persons are unable to vote independently under the current electoral system. On behalf of Fianna Fáil, I am bringing forward this Bill in order to facilitate greater access to and ease of use of the voting system for visually impaired members of society.

As has been highlighted for the National Disability Authority in a 2012 discussion paper, many visually impaired persons are currently unable to vote independently under the electoral system. There are a number of methods by which they may exercise their democratic franchise. They may bring a trusted companion into the voting booth, review the large-print ballot paper available at each polling station to help them mark their own ballot paper or ask the presiding officer for assistance with marking their ballot paper. This situation is inadequate for many, particularly those who are visually impaired who would like to vote independently, just like any other voter.

The National Council of the Blind in Ireland has in the past called for the implementation of alternative methods of voting for those with sight loss. Complaints have been made to both the Ombudsman and the Irish Human Rights Commission about the inaccessibility of the voting procedure for persons with sight loss.

The 2006 CSO National Disability Survey revealed that there were approximately 48,000 adults in Ireland who had substantial difficulties in seeing for everyday activities. More than half of these were aged 65 or over at the time of the survey. Some 2,300 could not see at all. With the correct aids, some with significant sight loss may still retain some useful vision. The National Disability Survey data indicated that 16,000 persons used a magnifier, large print materials or Braille reading materials, with about 3,500 using large print or Braille on computers. Approximately 1,900 used a screen reader when using a computer and 3,900 used audible or tactile devices.

Those with sight loss and difficulties reading and writing, and with capacity, face additional obstacles when voting. Some of these obstacles can be addressed by the development of appropriate guidelines and practices to ensure accessible voting for all those entitled to vote at an election or referendum. This Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2015 aims to operate side by side with those guidelines and practices and to give statutory footing to the facilitation of independent voting for those with sight loss.

The Bill aims to extend the time during which those with sight loss can vote with the assistance of a companion by reducing the timeframe during which the presiding officer can refuse to allow visually impaired voters to vote with assistance. It also proposes to remove the word "blind" from electoral law and seeks to encompass all visually impaired persons who cannot vote independently due to sight loss. The Bill retains the categorisation of visually impaired persons together with those who cannot vote independently due to literacy difficulties or incapacity.

The purpose of the Bill is to make provision for independent voting by persons who are visually impaired, illiterate or incapacitated. This is achieved at referenda through the use of templates. It also provides for independent voting at elections through the use of electronically-assisted mechanisms.

Electronically assisted voting is used in Australia and Oregon in the United States to allow those with sight loss to vote independently. It utilises software on a computer or a telephone to generate a printed ballot paper that records the voter's preference. Critically, it is distinguished from electronic voting by virtue of the fact that it is printed on paper, and goes into the same collection and counting procedure as every other vote. The vote is not recorded or counted electronically.

The Bill preserves the option of voting with a companion and reduces the time in which a presiding officer, in presidential or Dáil election, can refuse a request by visually impaired, incapacitated and illiterate voter to vote with the assistance of a companion. It is important to note that voters can be denied, up to two hours from the closing of the ballot by a presiding officer, such companionship or the right to vote at an election.

The Bill will operate together with existing provisions for assisted voting by visually impaired, incapacitated and illiterate voters and provides the additional option to vote independently, following the provision of assistance or without any assistance at all. The Bill will operate side by side with wider guidelines providing for greater access to voting for persons with sight loss and intellectual disabilities.

Section 1 contains the Short Title, collective citation, construction and commencement. It provides that the Act may be cited as the Referendum Act 2014. It provides that the Act can be cited together with the Referendum Acts, 1992-1998, and construed together as one. Section 2 provides for definitions of certain terms used in the Act.

Section 3 provides for the amendment of section 103 of the Act of 1992 by removing the word "blind" and replacing it with the "visually impaired". It also reduces the time during which the presiding officer can refuse to allow an elector to vote with the assistance of a companion, from two hours to one hour before the close of the poll.

Section 4 provides the definition of a "tactile voting template" and provides for the form of a tactile voting template at a constitutional referendum and an ordinary referendum and provides for the form of the template in the Schedule to the Act. A "tactile ballot template" means a folder of card or light plastic, with information thereon identifiable by touch, that allows for the ballot paper to be marked through openings in the tactile ballot template by inserting the ballot paper into the tactile ballot template.

Section 5 provides that the section will apply in every constitutional and every ordinary referendum. It provides that, during a referendum, a tactile ballot template shall be available for use at every polling station. It provides that a presidential elector who satisfies the presiding officer that his or her sight is so impaired that he or she cannot vote unassisted, may request that his or her ballot paper be placed inside a tactile ballot template and may mark his or her ballot paper through a tactile ballot template.

It provides that where a presidential elector has requested to mark his or her ballot paper using a tactile ballot template, the presiding officer may assist the elector by reading out in full the particulars stated on the ballot paper, but shall not assist the elector by marking the ballot paper on his or her behalf. It also provides that the presiding officer may refuse to assist the elector by reading out the particulars of the ballot paper if the request is made within one hour of the time fixed for the close of the poll and that in such circumstances, the elector may still elect to mark his paper using a tactile template. Section 6 provides for the insertion of a third Schedule into the Act of 1994.

Part 3 sets out the principal elements of the Bill. Section 7 defines certain terms used in Part 2 of the Bill. Section 8 states that Part 2 does not create an entitlement to vote by electronically assisted voting.

Section 9 provides for the approval by the Minister of a computer programme and a printer to be used for electronically assisted voting. It sets out the properties that the programme and printer must have in order to ensure as far as possible that this form of voting mirrors voting in the ordinary way before they are approved by the Minister. This section also provides for the computer programme to be known as "an approved computer program". The computer programme will enable a visual display and auditory description, including the names and order of the candidates and other details about the candidates as they appear on the ballot paper. It will enable voting instructions to be provided to an elector. It will allow the voter to read a description of the candidates and voting instructions on a visual display and to listen to the description of the candidates and voting instructions through personal listening devices. The computer programme will allow an elector to vote using a touch screen or keyboard. It will enable a voter to select consecutive preferences beginning with the number 1. Importantly, it will allow an elector to spoil his or her vote just as any other elector might opt to do in line with his or her democratic right.

The programme also allows an elector to correct a mistake before the vote proceeds into the computer process. It allows an elector to abandon the ballot without completing the vote. It can, through a printing device, produce a paper record of each vote cast to enable the counting of votes in the election. I want it to be noted that the computer programme will not retain a record of the vote that has been cast. This will prevent any person from ascertaining the vote of a particular elector. Section 9 also provides for a printing device to be used together with the approved computer programme, provided that the printing device can be loaded with, and print upon, a ballot paper and is capable of printing a record of the vote cast by an elector by marking the ballot paper in the appropriate space. In addition, the ink or font used by the printer must be of such a colour and of such characteristics that, as far as practicable, the mark made on the ballot paper resembles a mark made by manually marking the ballot paper with a pencil.

Section 10 provides that at least one polling place in every local election area shall be designated as "an electronically assisted voting centre". To protect the secrecy of the ballot, it states that no polling place should be used exclusively as an electronically assisted voting centre. Section 11 provides for the designation of a screened area, known as "an electronically assisted voting compartment", which should contain a computer with an approved computer programme installed, such audio or visual equipment as may be necessary, a printer approved by the Minister and any other furniture the presiding officer considers necessary on the day. Section 12 provides that the ballot paper used in an electronically assisted voting compartment shall be indistinguishable from the ballot paper use by other electors at the election.

Section 13 provides that, not less than ten days before polling, an elector whose name is not on the postal list or the special voters list who satisfies the returning officer that he or she is unable to vote without assistance, by reason of his or her vision being so impaired, he or she being physically incapacitated, or he or she being unable to read or write, may apply to vote at an electronically assisted voting centre. The location of the polling place at which he or she is authorised to vote should be contained in an authorisation form provided by the providing officer. It provides that the elector must provide such evidence in the form of documents as may be necessary to satisfy the returning officer.

Section 14 provides that an elector who has been authorised to vote at an electronically assisted voting centre or who is already on the register of electors in a polling place which has been designated as an electronically assisted voting centre and satisfies the presiding officer that his or her vision is so impaired, he or she is otherwise physically incapacitated or he or she is unable to read or write to such an extent that he is unable to vote without assistance, may vote at an electronically assisted voting centre using an electronically assisted voting system. That was one sentence. This section reserves the right of visually impaired, incapacitated and illiterate voters to elect to vote with a companion in accordance with section 103 of the 1992 Act.

Section 15 provides for the means by which an elector votes using an electronically assisted voting system. It provides that a vote using an electronically assisted system shall be the same as a vote in the ordinary way and that the ballot paper cannot be rejected solely on the grounds that it was marked using a printing device. It provides that the validity of the vote cast cannot be disputed on the ground that the elector could have voted without assistance.

Section 16 provides for arrangements to ensure the computer programme and electronic devices used or intended to be used for or in connection with electronically assisted voting are kept secure and free from interference and the integrity of voting is maintained while electronically assisted voting is being used. It provides for the offence of damaging, destroying or interfering with any computer programme, data file, audio equipment or electronic device, including a printing device, which is used, or intended to be used, for or in connection with electronically assisted voting and for the penalties for that offence. The Schedule provides for the form of the third Schedule to be inserted into the 1994 Act and for the form of the tactile voting template in a constitutional referendum and in an ordinary referendum.

I ask Deputies to pay special attention to the distinction between electronically assisted voting and electronic voting. What is proposed in this Bill is emphatically not electronic voting. No record of the vote will be retained by the computer and the counting of the vote will be done in the manner to which we are accustomed, with tally men and women and everything else that adds to the buzz of an election count. This Bill is simply another step in providing greater equality for people with disabilities. It provides a method by which people with a visual impairment or who are illiterate may vote in a manner that protects the privacy of their ballot to the same extent as the majority of people enjoy. It is my sincere hope that the Government accepts the Bill. I will be happy to discuss and debate any need or requirement for an amendment, if that is what is offered by the Government, with Deputies on both sides of the House. I thank Deputies for making themselves available this morning. I also thank those whose dedication, commitment and actions have contributed to this wonderful Bill. I ask the Minister of State to consider the spirit of this Bill positively and to act in conjunction with the Opposition in fulfilling the obligations set out in it.

I acknowledge the work that has gone into the preparation of this Bill by Deputy Keaveney and in bringing it to the House. The Government agrees with the principle of advancing the needs of voters with particular disabilities. This is at the heart of the Bill before the House. Therefore, I can say at this early stage that we will not be opposing it on Second Stage. The right to vote is a core democratic principle. It is a fundamental right of anybody who is eligible to vote. Over the years, successive Governments have introduced legislation to better assist voting by voters with disabilities of one type or another. I see the Bill as a further progression in that vein. The Department's disability sectoral plans have been supportive of examining independent voting. A number of aspects of the Bill will require careful examination before it is brought through the further Stages of the legislative process. I refer, in particular, to the provisions in Part 3 regarding electronically assisted voting.

In the Electoral Acts, we recognise that people with disabilities have particular needs. The provisions in these Acts are designed to make the voting process as accessible and inclusive as possible. At the same time, these provisions aim to ensure the integrity of the ballot is maintained and secrecy is provided for to the extent practicable. Our electoral procedures aim to strike an appropriate and reasonable balance in that regard.

Several measures have been introduced over the years on an incremental basis to meet the needs of voters with particular disabilities. It might be useful if I outline briefly for the House some of these measures before addressing directly the measures proposed in this Bill. A number of the measures that have been taken address physical disability directly. Local authorities, in making polling schemes, are obliged to appoint polling places where at least one polling station is accessible to wheelchair users.

Returning officers must, in addition, where practicable, give public notice not later than eight days before polling day of all polling stations which are inaccessible to wheelchair users. If an elector has difficulty gaining access to his or her polling station, he or she may apply in writing for authorisation to vote at another polling station in the same constituency. In addition, the option of postal voting by voters living at home is available to those who cannot go to the polling station due to a physical disability or illness.

The Department issues guidance to returning officers in advance of elections and referendums. The guidance includes an accessibility checklist in relation to the selection of polling stations. The checklist is based on the National Disability Authority's publication, Building for Everyone: A Universal Design Approach.

The Electoral Acts specifically provide for voters at polling stations who satisfy the presiding officer that their sight is so impaired that they are unable to vote without assistance. The Electoral Acts also have similar provisions for voters who are physically incapacitated or unable to read or write. Those voters can all avail of companion voting or voting with the assistance of the presiding officer. The focus of the provisions is to facilitate the voters concerned while endeavouring to ensure that the integrity of the ballot is maintained.

To act as a companion at an election, for example, a person must be at least 16 years of age, must be neither a candidate nor the agent of a candidate at the election, and may not assist more than two voters at an election. The presiding officer must not permit a companion to assist a voter unless he or she is satisfied that the companion fulfils the conditions. If a person is not eligible to act as a companion, the voter can have another person act as a companion or he or she may ask to be assisted by the presiding officer.

Where the presiding officer assists the voter, he or she marks the ballot paper in accordance with the instructions. The Department's manual for presiding officers suggests that the presiding officer and personation agent go with a voter to a voting compartment, or to a part of the polling station where a conversation in normal tones cannot be overheard, in order to mark the ballot paper. The manual also suggests that, if necessary, the presiding officer can suspend entry to the polling station and have the station cleared to ensure that no other person can overhear the voting process. I have witnessed that in the past, as I am sure the Deputies present have.

The provisions of the Electoral Acts providing for the inclusion of photographs and party political emblems on ballot papers were designed to assist voters with visual impairment and literacy difficulty. Likewise, the requirement on the presiding officer to display a large print version of an election ballot paper in the polling station is aimed at assisting voters with visual impairment. More recently, changes were made to the format of the referendum ballot paper. The new format ballot papers were used at last month's referendums. The changes made included the use of different and generally larger font sizes, together with better use of upper and lower case letters, and the use of bold lettering and shading.

Following the referendum on the abolition of the Seanad in October 2013, concerns were raised about confusion among voters in respect of the design, text and language of the ballot paper used at the referendum. The Department reviewed the format of the ballot paper in consultation with the National Adult Literacy Association and the National Council for the Blind. Arising from that, significant formatting changes were made to the ballot paper. While not meeting all of their requirements, both organisations were agreed that the new format of ballot paper was a big improvement on the one previously used. The introduction of the changes reflects a willingness on the part of the Department to make changes to assist people with visual or literacy difficulties. While the measures in place to assist voters with disabilities are helpful, it could be argued that they fall short of independent voting.

I understand Deputy Keaveney's Bill is intended to address that while, at the same time, leaving in place the existing range of measures to assist such voters. In Part 2, it is proposed to achieve that end at referendums for voters with visual impairments through the use of templates made of card or light plastic, more commonly known as tactile voting devices. Tactile voting devices are used at elections in the UK and other European countries. The Department has had their use under consideration in the light of trials undertaken by the National Disability Authority in June 2014. In its January 2015 report on the trials, the National Disability Authority commented on the current generation of tactile voting devices. It stated that they were unlikely to provide a workable solution under the Irish single transferable vote system. However, the authority recommended that the Department should consider the use of tactile voting devices at a referendum, where there are only two choices to be made in voting, namely, "Yes" or "No". Arising from that recommendation, the Department is examining the scope for the use of tactile voting devices at referendums. This includes consideration of costs, technical specifications, procurement, legislative provision, training and information for polling station staff and for voters.

In Part 3, it is proposed to achieve independent voting for voters who are visually impaired, physically incapacitated or illiterate through the use of electronically assisted voting at Dáil, European, local and presidential elections. The Bill proposes that this would be done through the provision of dedicated computers, at least one to be provided in each polling place in each electoral area. I understand that the intention is that the voters involved would interact with the computer to produce a marked ballot paper which would be indistinguishable from all other marked ballot papers at that election. While the Department is not aware of the particular device that the Deputy has in mind, the Department is aware that electronically assisted voting options have been made available in some jurisdictions for use by voters with visual and other impairments.

The Deputy's proposal will need to be considered in detail in the progression of the Bill through the Houses of the Oireachtas. I am aware that the January 2015 report of the National Disability Authority commented that computerised and telephone voting raises issues around the security and integrity of the ballot as well as logistical and cost challenges. The authority also noted in its report that while voting by computer worked for some voters in the trials undertaken, "some people with sight loss, especially older people, would be unlikely to be comfortable with such technologies".

Nonetheless, the authority recommended in its January 2015 report that the feasibility of electronic vote casting be explored by the Department and discussed with the National Disability Authority and relevant disability organisations. It would seem to be the case, therefore, that any proposal to introduce electronically assisted voting would require detailed research, assessment, testing and costing. It is not clear whether this has been undertaken for the proposal in Part 3.

In concluding my contribution at this stage, I wish to say that any initiative to improve voting arrangements for voters with visual impairment, physical disabilities or literacy difficulties is worthy of support. That said, there are aspects of the Bill that would require careful examination on Committee Stage, in particular the workability of the provisions in Part 3 for electronically assisted voting. While measures have been taken in the development of the electoral code over the years to better assist such voters, I acknowledge there is always room for improvement. I again commend Deputy Keaveney for raising this very important issue and for taking the initiative in introducing the Bill. I look forward to working with him and with other Members of the House on it. Go raibh míle maith agaibh.

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Bill. I commend Deputy Keaveney on introducing it. Independent voting rights are very important and the Deputy has set out a strong case in the Bill to assist people with sight difficulties. In general, we support the Bill. Clearly, much work has gone into preparing the legislation and it is obvious that those drafting the Bill consulted closely with people who have sight loss and put a great deal of consideration into it.

The technical aspects of the proposal are complex but presumably they are similar to systems which operate in other jurisdictions. While the object of the Bill is to facilitate independent voting, it is welcome that it preserves the right of visually impaired voters to be assisted to a certain extent by a companion. That is essential, as many people, particularly the elderly with visual impairment, would not have much experience of electronic equipment or computers.

I am somewhat confused as to the provision of tactile voting for referendums and in presidential elections but not in Dáil or local elections. Perhaps that is due to the greater complexity of such elections. Deputy Keaveney might elaborate on the point when he responds to the Bill.

I assume the provision of a computer will constitute the main technical assistance in elections, in addition to the existing right of the visually impaired and those with reading difficulties to have a companion with them to assist them in filling out the ballot paper. The proposals to allow greater time for people to be registered and then turn up at a polling centre are sensible.

The Minister of State spoke about access but there is still a problem with wheelchair access at polling stations. That should be examined again in respect of each centre to improve the access for people with mobility problems.

A raft of other changes are required to existing electoral legislation. We dealt with the issue of establishing an electoral commission at the Joint Committee on the Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht this week. It is noticeable that there is general cross-party consensus on not only the need for such a body but that it would be established as soon as possible, preferably before the next election. We are realistic that everything cannot be transferred over too quickly but elements of the process could be transferred over. If we had an electoral commission, it could deal with many of the problems that arise in regard to registration, ballot papers and so on, and it would be the ideal place to deal with the proposals contained in this Bill. It would also be able to assess the technical aspects of the proposal and recommend what would need to be done in a relatively short space of time whereas leaving such matters to ad hoc committees and various bodies set up from time to time means there is a delay in implementing necessary changes. Changes made in the past have not always been properly thought through before being put in place. We know that from the godforsaken e-voting machines, which incurred a large initial cost and a huge hang-over cost while we had them for many years. The ongoing confusion with regard to the layout of referendum ballots is another issue that could be dealt with by such a body.

I published a Bill in the recent past proposing the lowering of the voting age to 16. The Minister, Fine Gael and the Labour Party should not be afraid of 16 and 17 year olds voting. While the Government’s position is to lower the voting age to 17, it has not given an indication as to when it will implement that measure. Will it implement it prior to the next general election, as promised, or will it fall by the wayside, off the Fine Gael-Labour Party bandwagon. I also proposed that, given the still large discrepancies regarding the register of electors, personal public service, PPS, numbers be used to automatically register a person on reaching the age of 18 or the age of voting, whatever we may determine that to be. I have heard various objections to, and questions about, this, but I am sure they could be ironed out and with their use, we would have less of a problem than we currently have given that there we have 200,000 more people on the register than are recorded in the census of population.

Registering people by PPS numbers could be verified by another independent verifier held by State bodies. It would also represent what would be a positive move away from a household registration system. It would reduce the risk of election fraud, which we all want to address. It would solve some of the problems linked to people changing address. It is not good enough to have one's registration tied to an address because people, particularly younger people, change jobs more frequently and they move to take up studies. People who have been living at the same address and have been on the register for years can go to their polling station and find they have removed from the register.

I met people from the Union of Students of Ireland this week and they have produced a good document on this subject, which I commend to the Minister of State. That document contains several valid points showing where improvements can be made. They are sensible proposals. They make the case for people being able to register online rather than go through the process of filling in forms and having to go to a Garda station and local government offices. Care would have to be taken to verify online registration but with the proper safeguards, it would increase the number of young people registering to vote. The outcome of the recent referendum showed that young people are interested in voting, contrary to what many people believe.

We still have not got around to finding time to discuss the fifth Constitutional Convention report on voting rights. On two occasions in the past few weeks, it has been put on the Dáil schedule and then taken off due to time constraints. I hope that time is found to discuss it as it deals with important issues in regard to Irish citizens outside of the State having the right to vote in presidential and Seanad elections, for which there is broad support. Sinn Féin supports that right, especially given that Irish citizens living in the North have been candidates in the past and, hopefully, will be candidates in the future, for the office of Uachtarán na hÉireann. Several people, including the late former Senator Gordon Wilson and others from the North, have been appointed to the Seanad by various parties.

I wish to state my general support, and that of my party, for this Bill but I also call for the establishment of an electoral commission before the next general election. The Minister of State should not wait until after that. Such a body would be the most suitable way to deal a wide range of issues, including some of the issues arising in this Bill.

As the Minister of State is here this morning, I want to raise with him his abuse of the Dáil in stitching the water Bill as an amendment-----

Deputy, that is not in order.

This is important because there is no opportunity-----

It is not in order.

We were landed with this yesterday evening. The Government stitched in a water Bill and a waste management Bill into a very small Bill-----

The Deputy was told about this.

The Deputy will have an opportunity to raise that next week.

-----dealing with Killarney National Park and dog breeding. It is a real cute hoor stroke.

The Deputy should not use that type of language. It is not parliamentary language.

I am surprised at Deputy Stanley

The Minister stitched two Bills on waste management and on water, which he promised to bring forward during this term of the Dáil but he failed to do that.

The Minister told-----

I and other Opposition spokespersons have been asking him about that. It is a real abuse of Dáil power.

We have got that point.

It is abuse by the Government of this House. What it has done is an abuse of the electorate.

Thank you, Deputy.

Deputy Stanley is being opportunistic.

What happened to the democratic revolution? The Government promised a democratic revolution.

That is a different issue altogether.

The Government promised to do things a new way but it has failed to do that. It has landed the Opposition with this-----

Is the Deputy looking for reasons to pick a row?

-----as an amendment but it is not an amendment, it is two Bills. It is a barefaced stroke by the Minister-----

It brings certainty. The Deputy was looking for certainty.

-----and it is an abuse by the Labour Party and Fine Gael of this House and of the electorate.

I am sure the Deputy will have an opportunity to raise that issue. I call the Minister of State.

Those in government should be ashamed of themselves for the way they have done this.

It brings the certainty that the Deputy was looking for.

They are afraid to bring that forward in a proper Bill.

I call the Minister of State. Deputy Stanley, please desist.

The way they have handled the whole water-----

Deputy Stanley, the Chair is on its feet.

The Government guillotined Bills during the past two years and now it has brought this in, riding on the back of an innocuous Bill about dog breeding and Killarney National Park.

Deputy, I have called the Minister of State. That has nothing to do with the Bill before us. We are on the Electoral (Amendment) Bill.

It is appalling. Water and waste management have nothing to do with dog breeding or Killarney National Park.

That is enough. I call the Minister of State.

Those in government should we ashamed of themselves-----

The Deputy can deal with that next week, or some other time. The Minister of State has five minutes.

-----for the way they have done this.

We are on the Electoral (Amendment) Bill.

-----at Deputy Stanley's-----

A dog breeding Bill should be a dog breeding Bill.

-----pseudo outburst in regard to the Bill. He knows full well that the Environment ( Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill-----

Pseudo. It is on paper what the Government has done.

-----is often utilised as a legislative mechanism to tidy up legislation. It deals with waste, water and other elements. I was surprised he expressed such lack of knowledge because I attended the House for Oral Questions when the Minister informed the Deputy that he intended to deal with this aspect in legislation before the summer. It am just clarifying that for the Deputy.

We will turn now to the Electoral (Amendment) Bill.

As I said, the Government is not opposing this Bill. We support the principle of advancing the needs of voters with disabilities of one type of another. In my earlier contribution, I outlined some of the main measures that had been taken over the years to assist voting by people with disabilities. I think all sides of the House have been, and continue to be, well disposed to doing whatever is feasible to advance this agenda. While the range of measures we have in place is commendable, there is always room for improvement and I want to acknowledge that also.

The National Disability Authority in June 2014, in the trials that it had undertaken and that were reported on by the authority in January 2015, has been very helpful. Its report identifies options for consideration and some of the challenges that will need to be addressed in the advancement of independent voting. The Department has taken up the recommendations in the National Disability Authority's report in regard to the use of tactile voting devices at referendums and is currently examining the scope for their use. As I said earlier, the workability of the proposal in the Bill to provide for electronically-assisted voting will also require detailed examination in due course. In our examination of these proposals, we should always keep in mind the integrity of the ballot, and I believe Deputies will agree with that.

Some questions were asked about the establishment of an electoral commission. Its establishment is a commitment in the programme for Government. It was also a recommendation of the fourth report of the Constitutional Convention. The Government accepted the recommendation of the convention and the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government published a consultation paper on 27 January 2015 to commence the pre-legislative process leading to the establishment of the commission.

I thank Deputy Keaveney for the work he has put into the Bill. We are not opposing it on Second Stage. It is something we need to evaluate continuously to see how we can improve access for voters who have a right and a franchise to vote in elections and referendums.

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Coffey, for indicating that the Government would not oppose the Bill on Second Stage. In respect of his concerns about Part 3 of the Bill, I believe adequate provisions are made to protect the integrity and secrecy of the ballot. I am sure we will mutually see the benefits of that integrity on Second Stage.

The guiding principle of the Bill is that a person with a visual impairment, or who is illiterate, may vote in a manner similar to any other person without being disadvantaged by the inequality born out of their disability. Part of this is that they should enjoy the privacy and secrecy of the ballot along with every other citizen. We have proposed the use of a technology to facilitate this. It cannot be beyond the scope of human genius to create a printed font that resembles the mark of a pencil, to make the ballot paper indistinguishable from any other ballot. As to the cost of the challenge, the Bill does not propose to make electronically assisted voting machines mandatory. The Bill as drafted would allow for the kind of careful roll-out that the Minister of State discussed and, as practicably as possible, would ensure that integrity is built into its measures.

I thank Deputy Stanley for his helpful contributions. While it is not covered in the Bill, I agree that polling stations do not adequately provide for persons who use wheelchairs. I recently witnessed the experiences of a number of people who had access disabilities when voting in the referendum. The reason for restricting tactile ballots to referendums and presidential elections has to do with the complexity of extending them to other elections, given the variety of ballot papers that can be used. We should look at this in the future, as Deputy Stanley has said. I would be happy to discuss with Deputy Stanley, or with the Minister of State, any improving amendments within the spirit of the Bill.

I acknowledge the dedication and commitment of the working group, some of whose members have visual impairments. Its members have shared their concerns around literacy and have helped bring the Bill into the Chamber today. The issue is of cross-party concern and I hope we will continue in this focused spirit on the remaining Stages of the Bill. We should all work together in the interests of those who are listening and watching today, and who hope they have an equal right to exhaust their mandate in secrecy and independently. We should ensure that any advantage given to able-bodied people is, irrespective of the cost, but within reason, afforded to people who have disabilities or are illiterate. I commend the Bill to the House.

Question put and agreed to.
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