Election officials charging State to store e-voting machines
A number of state-appointed election officials are reportedly charging the Irish taxpayer for storing electronic voting machines.
Reports this morning said these officials had privately bought warehouses to store the machines and are now charging rent to the State.
One returning officer in Dublin is reportedly charging €65,000 a year to store machines in a warehouse he bought and converted along with his daughter.
Meanwhile, figures circulated to the Dáil public accounts committee have reportedly shown that the cost of storing electronic voting machines in four times higher in Waterford than in the rest of the country.
It costs the State more than €650,000 a year to store 7,500 of the machines, but this morning's reports said charges in Waterford averaged €260 per machine, compared to €62 per machine elsewhere in the country.
Waterford is the constituency of Martin Cullen, who introduced the controversial electronic voting system when he was Minister for the Environment.
The planned introduction was abandoned due to concerns about the accuracy and security of the machines and the potential for electoral fraud.
