Now the finger is pointed at Cullen

The minister’s humiliation is complete, says Political Editor Harry McGee.

IT was intended to be a 'belts and braces' approach, to use Martin Cullen's phrase. In February, after months of defending the accuracy and reliability of electronic voting, the Minister for Environment was forced to bow to opposition pressure and introduce enabling legislation and set up a Commission on Electronic Voting.

But if it was a concession, it never amounted to a climbdown. Cullen remained as fervent in his support for the system as ever; insisted the tests had made it fool-proof, tamper-proof and judging by his prickly putdowns opposition-proof. He mocked the doubts of Fine Gael's Bernard Allen and Labour's Eamon Gilmore as "politicking", archly questioned the independence and credentials of computer boffins who expressed criticism of the system.