Electronic voting System gets go-ahead
The Environment Minister, Martin Cullen, has confirmed that an independent commission will be set up to oversee the introduction of electronic voting, which was given the go-ahead at a Cabinet meeting earlier today.
The commission would not be reporting to him or the Government, Mr Cullen said, but would report to the Houses of the Oireachtas.
Mr Cullen further said that the terms of reference of the Commission would be confined to examining the operations of the Nedap system proposed by the Government, and would not be able to recommend alternative systems.
The Minister also said there would be no provision for spoiled votes.
Earlier, Mr Cullen told RTÉ news that he is delighted that electronic voting will be rolled out in time for the local and European elections.
On the issue of a receipt to validate each vote or a paper trail, Mr Cullen said there was no paper trail system operating anywhere in the world.
Mr Cullen said he had every confidence in the accuracy of the system, and believed the Government had made the right decision to go ahead with it.
The go-ahead for electronic voting came despite Opposition calls for a postponement until concerns about security are addressed.
The decision was strongly criticised in the Dáil this afternoon, but the Taoiseach defended it, accusing the Opposition of wanting to maintain what he called 'old ways'.
At this morning's Cabinet meeting, Mr Cullen outlined his proposals for a number of changes to the scheme announced last week.
His colleagues agreed to proceed with the full implementation of the scheme.
Mr Cullen will now move forward on promised legislation to underpin the legality of using the system, and with the establishment of an independent panel to verify the secrecy and accuracy of electronic voting.
However, Opposition parties have promised to fight any attempt to rush the legislation through the Oireachtas without full debate.
