The Minister for the Environment, Mr Cullen, defended the introduction of electronic voting during heated exchanges with Fine Gael's Mr Bernard Allen.
Mr Cullen insisted that electronic voting and counting would improve the efficiency, speed, accuracy and user-friendliness of elections.
"It will also eliminate the democratic wastage associated with spoilt votes," he said.
"It is a desirable modernisation of the electoral system, and I look forward to its successful implementation at the June 2004 polls."
He added that, to date, 4,840 voting machines and ancillary hardware had been delivered to returning officers. Software testing would be completed shortly, while training of returning officers and their staff was continuing.
Mr Allen, FG spokesman on the environment, criticised the Minister for not seeking all-party agreement on the issue. "How can he introduce a system that is changing fundamentally the way we run our democracy, by not introducing it through an electoral commission?" he asked.
"How can the Minister contemplate introducing this system without key questions about the security of the system, including whether it is tamper-proof, having been answered?"
He asked Mr Cullen if he would give details of a contract entered into by his Department with a firm involving "buddies of Fianna Fail".
The Minister replied that Mr Allen had made "an outrageous remark and impugns people who are not in the House to defend themselves".
