It is a one-day conference. I do not have the itinerary here but the Deputy may contact the clerk after the meeting to obtain the details. If anyone else is interested, we can clear a budget at our next meeting.
The next item is a letter from Emily Kathleen Villamar-Robbins in Dallas, Texas, regarding the M3 motorway in the Tara-Skryne Valley. We will refer it to the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government for a detailed response. It is a well known issue.
The next item is an e-mail from Mr. Tommy Byrne, Clonsilla, Dublin 15. I understand he is offering his services as a consultant to the committee or any other committee. We will note and keep it on file.
The next item is a report on greenhouse gas emissions from road fuels and the specification of fuel used by inland waterway vessels from the Joint Committee on European Scrutiny which was copied to the committee for information purposes. We are not requested by the Joint Committee on European Scrutiny to deal with it but only to note it.
The next item is a newsletter from the Combat Poverty Agency which we will note. Next is the Local Government Computer Services Board annual report which we received this morning and which we will also note. If members wish to invite the group to attend a meeting of the committee, we will consider it in our work programme.
A draft report on the visit by a delegation of the joint committee to the GLOBE 2008 tenth biennial trade and fair conference on business and the environment held in Vancouver last month has been circulated. We extend our thanks to Deputy Bannon and Senator Glynn for representing the committee at the conference. Is it agreed to approve the draft report and lay it before the Houses of the Oireachtas? Agreed.
The main item on the agenda is our report on the electoral register. A draft was circulated by the clerk at our last meeting. There was a general discussion on the format for dealing with a report from a joint committee. As Chairman, I went through the various comments and have proposed some changes. We must formally go through the report page by page. The task is not as big as it seems. We need only go as far as page 17. The rest consists of submissions from various individuals and the appendices. They do not involve issues in which we are involved. They are simply documents presented to the committee. We need to clear a paragraph and adopt it with a view to launching the report. There are one or two minor details that must be finalised. I hope we can move through this promptly and formally launch the report on Wednesday next.
The committee will meet next Tuesday to discuss the Estimates. It is hoped to launch the report next Wednesday in the committee room or the meeting room next door. The format will be to launch it at approximately 2 p.m. The committee will have a meeting 15 minutes beforehand to formally approve the report. At that stage one or two figures will be inserted on which I have been awaiting a response to a parliamentary question. We will go to the media centre and, as Chairman, I will launch the report and invite any members of the committee who wish to do so to comment on it. It will then be open to the media to ask questions. I ask members not to issue any press releases between now and the next meeting because the report is from the whole committee, not from any individual member. We can all comment next week. I am conscious that we are in public session and that journalists can pick up on our comments today. However, I ask that individual members hang back, as we will work as a team on Wednesday next. Is that agreed? Agreed.
In dealing with the draft report, I do not intend to read it line by line. I will refer to the paragraphs which we will agree as we go along. The paragraphs on which we will be making recommendations are those on pages 12 to 17. I will turn to page 7 where the report begins. If members have issues or want to make textual changes, we will note them now and have them signed off here. The table of contents includes the Chairman's preface, membership, acknowledgements and executive summary, which lists the topics with which we will deal in our conclusions.
The first paragraph deals with the background. There were problems with the electoral register and the census. These problems were very severe in the run-up to the 2007 election. We decided, therefore, to study the issue. The second paragraph relates to the existing administration of the electoral system. In that regard, the committee called in the various Departments which have a role in the electoral system. The third paragraph deals with suggested improvements to the registration process. In that context, the committee visited Northern Ireland and invited representatives of two Departments to attend a meeting. Paragraph 4 deals with proposals for change, while paragraph 5 contains our conclusions. This is followed by the appendices.
Regarding the Chairman's preface, it will be up to me to say a few words. There are no problems regarding the membership of the committee and the acknowledgements listed on page 5.
Paragraph 2 relates to the existing administration of the electoral system. The role of the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government is set out in detail. An appendix is included with the opening statements from each Department, the information presented, the questions asked and answers received. The role of the local authority registration authorities which deal with the register is where many of our problems arose. I suggest we look at that paragraph. A total of 34 registration authorities are responsible for the register and therein lies the problem. Updating the register and making preparations for elections are not core functions of authorities and not given priority. The level of priority afforded to this task varies from authority to authority. Despite efforts by the Department in promoting uniformity of approach, it became clear to members that there were serious errors with election data which arose from the following: the varying degree of priority afforded to maintaining data; a wide variety of practices among authorities; an insufficient number of field workers; and door-to-door visits to obtain the necessary information in some authorities. The main problems concerned accuracy, omissions and duplication. These are the problems with the register.
The key role of the Department of Finance is to pay returning officers by a standard agreement. The Department also makes payments to An Post for delivering voting material and reimburses candidates who qualify for reimbursement when approved by the Standards in Public Office Commission, the role of which is to oversee expenditure and approve refunds. It also has other functions but not specifically to do with an election. For the information of the committee, this is the only information awaiting verification and it will be cleared at our next meeting.
Information on the cost of holding the general election in 2007 and payments to returning officers is on its way by way of a parliamentary question I tabled. The Department of Finance gave the committee the information on payments to An Post for issuing polling cards, which amount to approximately €12 million. The figure for reimbursement of election expenses to candidates as approved by the Standards in Public Office Commission is included in the commission's annual report and will be conveyed to the committee. It is approximately €2 million or €3 million. Payments to the Office of Public Works which are to be verified are in the order of €500,000. There are other costs in holding an election which include administrative costs by the Departments of Finance and the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, the Standards in Public Office Commission and the various local authorities.
I refer to page 10 of the report. The total electorate in the 2007 general election was 3,110,914, of whom a total of 2,085,245 voted. To say the turnout was 67.03% is not correct because we all know that the original electoral register figure of 3,110,000 is flawed, which is the reason we are investigating it. The committee is not making a comment, rather it is providing information on the costs incurred.
To suggest improvements we looked at the registration process followed by the Northern Ireland Office. We spoke to the Department of Social and Family Affairs about the use of PPS numbers. The Department made it clear that this would require a change in legislation. We spoke to the Data Protection Commissioner who was very concerned about data protection, an issue with which we will deal. I refer to the proposals for change listed on page 12. The next few pages of the report carry the details of the committee's suggestions.
