An extension of time should be granted to local authorities involved in the compilation of a register of electors because of the errors and omissions that have been identified by the exercise.
Minister for the Environment and Local Government Dick Roche has sought to distance himself from the problem and to suggest that things will be all right on the night. But the register is the very bedrock of our democracy. And with a general election less than a year away the Government has a responsibility to ensure that it is as accurate as possible.
Six months ago, the enormity of the problem became apparent when a Fianna Fáil survey discovered that 15,000 dead or absent people were incorrectly registered to vote in Dublin South-East, where the entire turnout in 2002 had been less than 33,000. And, because the issue could no longer be ignored, the Government provided extra funding and new guidelines for local authorities to engage in an extensive revision of the register. In spite of that, not all of the 34 authorities involved followed the guidelines provided. And at least two of them failed to meet the publication deadline of November 1st.
This is not a party political issue. Fianna Fáil backbenchers are as anxious as others to ensure additional time is provided in order to guarantee greater accuracy. In particular, they want to reassure constituents who have been wrongly excluded from the register that they will be readmitted with a minimum of red tape. The process of scrutinising and correcting the draft register could take at least some weeks. But the Minister has set his face against altering the cut-off point of next Saturday, November 25th , on the grounds that it is "neither necessary nor prudent".
In a presentation to a joint Oireachtas committee last week Mr Roche admitted that, in the last general election, more than 300,000 people had been improperly registered to vote. By comparison, he suggested the new register will be a model of accuracy.
That may be so. But it is a hollow boast when set against past error rates of 44 per cent. And discrepancies under the new guidelines are still unquantified. It is known, however, that the new registers for Cos Louth and Donegal exceed the eligible populations by at least 10 per cent.
This is not a minor matter. And the Minister cannot walk away from it by proposing that in order to counteract fraud, one in four voters should be publicly challenged. An inaccurate register actively encourages illegal behaviour. It is the primary source of electoral fraud. And it must be vigorously tackled.
To his credit, Mr Roche has made some progress in addressing this long-running public scandal. It would be a serious mistake for him to ignore representations from all quarters and to deny the time required to revise the draft register. Composition of the next government could turn on the issue.