The Government is considering storing electronic voting machines in both water- and air-tight containers normally used by the Defence Forces to store and transport military equipment.
However, it has emerged the State is tied into long-term leases on some of the e-voting storage facilities around the country and, as a result, will not be able to put all machines into one storage facility.
The long-term contracts mean the Government is likely to have ongoing costs arising from the machines, even if it decides to abandon electronic voting.
The Commission on Electronic Voting, established by the Government to advise on the issue, is due to complete and present its report on the security and accuracy of the machines. The project has already cost €52 million and generates an additional €700,000 in storage costs every year.
In a bid to save on the storage costs, the Department of the Environment began to examine the possibility of storing all the machines in one place, and is in advanced discussions on the use of a 40-year-old air hangar at the military airfield and camp in Gormanston, Co Meath.
The Irish Times has learned department officials were concerned the condition and design of the building meant the machines would be at risk of rust and other damage.
The department confirmed, however, that officials are now examining the possibility of storing the machines in containers that can be sealed against water and air.
These large containers are used by the Defence Forces to store equipment, including radios and other electronic equipment, in a nearby hangar for deployment overseas. The containers also permit equipment to be stored outside.
Nedap, the manufacturer of the electronic voting machines, has advised they can be stored securely and safely in the containers, once they are fitted with condensation inhibitors (standard devices used in the packaging of computers). The estimated cost of buying the containers has been put at less than €150,000.
However, the department has been informed only four-fifths of the 7,500 machines can fit into the hangar.
A department spokesman said yesterday it was unclear whether all of the machines would be moved to a central facility because some returning officers had entered into long-term leases for storage in their local area. He said the department was not releasing details of these long-term contracts or the facilities to which they apply.
Meanwhile, the Oireachtas Committee on the Environment is to hold discussions with Minister for the Environment Dick Roche on plans to update the electoral register, which may be out by up to 800,000 voters.
Yesterday, the Labour Party environment spokesman Éamon Gilmore rejected claims by Mr Roche that any Labour Party proposal to use information from census forms to update the electoral register would undermine census confidentiality.