The Electronic Voting Commission has said it is on schedule to meet the May 1st deadline to report on whether the new voting system should be introduced on June 11th, despite a long stand-off over the commission's request to see the computer programme on which the system is based.
The earliest the Cabinet will consider the commission's report will be on May 4th, when it meets, just over five weeks before the local government and European Parliament elections on June 11th.
The Government has committed itself to accepting the recommendation of the commission, which is to report on the system's accuracy and secrecy.
The commission has declined to comment on any aspect of its work, insisting that it performs its function in private. However, a spokesman confirmed yesterday that the commission is on course to complete its report in time.
This report is anxiously awaited by the Government and the Minister for the Environment, Mr Cullen, in particular. Both have insisted that the system is foolproof and will go ahead on June 11th.
With just a week to go before the deadline set by the Government there is some speculation that the independent body could decide that it has not had enough time fully to assess the system. Some Government sources say they still hope for a positive report, but a negative finding would necessitate a late change of plan to organise manual rather than electronic voting.
The Labour environment spokesman, Mr Eamon Gilmore, said yesterday that he doubted whether the commission could report on time - by this day week - given the long dispute over access to the system's "source code". That dispute has been resolved after the Government agreed to indemnify the commission against any future legal action.
This arose following the initial refusal of the provider of the new e-voting system to allow the commission examine the confidential "source code" without an assurance of substantial compensation should details of the programme fall into the hands of competitors.