I propose to take Question Nos. 130, 155, 156 and 214 together.
The Commission on Electronic Voting concluded in its Second Report on the Secrecy, Accuracy and Testing of the Chosen Electronic Voting System, which was published on 4 July 2006, that it can recommend the voting and counting equipment for use at elections in Ireland, subject to further work it has recommended. The Commission made it clear that many of its recommendations involve only relatively minor modifications or additions to the system. While the software of the voting machine was considered by the Commission to be of adequate quality requiring only minor modifications and further analysis to confirm its reliability, it was unable to recommend the election management software. In the context of its comparison of the electronic and manual voting systems, the Commission concluded that, subject to its recommendations being implemented, the chosen system has the potential to deliver greater accuracy than the paper system and can provide similarly high levels of secrecy.
In response to the report, the Government has established a Cabinet Committee, which I chair and which includes the Tánaiste and the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, to consider the report and other assessment work in detail; report to the Government on the full implications of the Commission recommendations; consider the composition of a peer review group (drawn from international electoral reform bodies and the IT industry) to supervise any software redesign work; report to the Government on confidence building measures; and identify any other improvements that might be built into the system. The work of the Cabinet Committee is under way.
The total cost incurred to date in the development and roll-out of the electronic voting and counting system is some €51.3 million. In addition, information provided by returning officers to my Department indicates that the total annual storage cost for the electronic voting machines and ancillary equipment is some €696,000. Arrangements are now being made to centralise storage of the e-voting machines.
The timing of the further use of the system is dependent on the ongoing work of the Cabinet Committee on Electronic Voting, the associated decisions arising in this regard, and the dates at which future polls may be held.
My Department has had no approach from other jurisdictions in relation to the e-voting technology.