I have a question in respect of the electoral register. On Friday last, people voted in local and European elections, a referendum and, in three counties, a plebiscite. The turnout was just under 50%. I have heard reports about inaccuracies in the electoral register. I will give an example. A 73 year old man from Mount Melleray in west Waterford turned up to vote, having never missed a vote in 55 years. When he got to the polling station with his wife, he discovered that he had, through no fault of his own, been removed from the register. I have also heard reports that people who died in the past year were still on the register. Are there any plans to try to update the electoral register to ensure that it is accurate? We hear many reports that it is not accurate. I imagine that we will be facing into an election cycle in the next 12 months-----

Is it about to be announced?

-----so it is very important that the electoral register should be in order.

Public consultation was completed just prior to the local and European elections on updating the electoral register. Similar complaints to those raised by the Deputy have reached me from other parts of the country in recent days. The public consultation report will be published as soon as possible. The aim is to introduce a new process of online registration, as well as a hard-copy registration process, in the autumn of this year. Matters are slightly complicated by the fact that we do not want to do anything that would undermine public confidence in the system and the process. As the Deputy pointed out, we are not yet sure when some future voting events might take place. However, her point is accurate. Most of the returns from the public consultation focused on the desirability of using people's PPS numbers to ensure that those who have passed away are removed and also that those who have changed address are registered at the right location.