E-voting machine storage pegged at €696,000

[Working Class Hero]

E-voting machine storage pegged at €696,000

23 March 2006 15:32

The Public Accounts Committee has heard that the cost of insurance and storage for electronic voting machines this year will be €696,000.

Niall Callan, Accounting Officer at the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government said that talks were under way with the Department of Defence to try to find a centralised storage area for the e-voting machines.

Committee Chairman Michael Noonan asked if there was a contingency plan in place to use the machines for the next General Election.


However, Mr Callan would only reply that the department's focus remained on validating the system.


This is getting beyond a joke now.

[eurocrat]

Well, what would you propose we do with the machines?

[Carrier]

Well, what would you propose we do with the machines?

Sell them?

[Rocky]

Maybe we can sell them to some corrupt dictator who wants to pretend he has democratic elections in his country. He won't care about the fact that they don’t have a paper trail. He'll prefer it that way. We can make some of the money back that way too.

[Biffo]

Maybe we can sell them to some corrupt dictator who wants to pretend he has democratic elections in his country. He won't care about the fact that they don’t have a paper trail. He'll prefer it that way. We can make some of the money back that way too.

Still bitter about Nora Owen eh?

[Working Class Hero]

Maybe we can sell them to some corrupt dictator who wants to pretend he has democratic elections in his country. He won't care about the fact that they don’t have a paper trail. He'll prefer it that way. We can make some of the money back that way too.

Rocky, What will Fine Gael do if they get into Government?

[eurocrat]

Well, what would you propose we do with the machines?

Sell them?

Well I don't think any one is going to buy them. Obviously there are plans to use these machines at some point in the future.

[jmcc]

Maybe we can sell them to some corrupt dictator who wants to pretend he has democratic elections in his country. He won't care about the fact that they don’t have a paper trail. He'll prefer it that way. We can make some of the money back that way too.

Still bitter about Nora Owen eh?

I think that there should be a full investigation into the deal and those who profited from it. I would not trust the security of the system (expert opinion based on looking at the outline spec). I just don't trust the security model.

Regards...jmcc

[Carrier]

Well, what would you propose we do with the machines?

Sell them?

Well I don't think any one is going to buy them. Obviously there are plans to use these machines at some point in the future.

I was actually going to follow up with a smart comment along the lines of what Rocky ( ) jumped in with, there's no way anyone in their right mind would buy voting machines we've rejected. I've actually used one of these machines when they were piloted. I wasn't into it at all. I just feel that with something as important as a vote you should get to see it in hard copy, so you know a record of it actually exists.

[Working Class Hero]

Well, what would you propose we do with the machines?

Sell them?

Well I don't think any one is going to buy them. Obviously there are plans to use these machines at some point in the future.

I was actually going to follow up with a smart comment along the lines of what Rocky ( ) jumped in with, there's no way anyone in their right mind would buy voting machines we've rejected. I've actually used one of these machines when they were piloted. I wasn't into it at all. I just feel something as important as a vote you should get to see it in hard copy, so you know a record of it actually exists.

My feelings exactly.