The Government has agreed to provide bilingual facilities for some voters in the Nice Treaty referendum, the High Court was told yesterday. The facilities will be provided for those using the new electronic voting system in certain constituencies on October 19th.
A Dublin tax consultant, Mr Ciaran Ó Feinneadha, Palmerstown Drive, Palmerstown, had initiated proceedings challenging the lack of bilingual facilities. He complained that the interactive screen on the voting computer was in English only. The court granted Mr Ó Feinneadha leave to seek a judicial review of the Government's plans for electronic voting in his constituency of Dublin West.
Yesterday, Mr Seamus Ó Tuathail SC, for Mr Ó Feinneadha, told Mr Justice Ó Caoimh that the dispute had been settled following certain undertakings given on behalf of the Minister of the Environment and Local Government, Mr Cullen.
Under the settlement terms, the ballot paper to be displayed on the voting machines will be bilingual and a poster in both Irish and English will remind voters to press the "cast vote(s)" button on the voting machine.
A label with the Irish language version of the computer prompts \ will also be attached to the voting machines. This label is an additional facility not provided at the last election.
In an affidavit prepared for yesterday's hearing, a Department official said the introduction of the electronic voting system on a countrywide basis will be considered for the European and local elections in June 2004.
Adjustments will be made to the voting machines with the inclusion of an additional button, which people will be able to press to display prompts on the screen in Irish.
According to the Department, time constraints did not allow for this feature to be introduced in advance of the Nice Treaty referendum, as it required not only modification of the machine's software but also re-submission of the machine to the German test institute responsible for certifying them.