Opposition seeks Cullen’s resignation

Fine Gael and the Labour Party have both called for Environment Minister Martin Cullen to resign his position due to the fiasco surrounding the introduction of electronic voting.

The Government abandoned plans to introduce the system today after the independent Electronic Voting Commission said it was open to interference and its accuracy could not be guaranteed.

Fine Gael TD Bernard Allen said Mr Cullen had thrown the electoral process into chaos by insisting on the introduction of electronic voting, while Labour Party TD Eamon Gilmore said the Minister had wasted €52m of taxpayers' money on a system that may never be used.

Mr Cullen has spent the last number of months insisting that the electronic voting system was perfectly safe, despite concerns expressed by the opposition and several technical experts.

Mr Gilmore said the fact that today's report echoed those concerns raised serious questions about Mr Cullen's political judgement and that of his cabinet colleagues.

"Day after day in recent months, Minister Cullen ignored all the evidence to the contrary and insisted that the proposed system was secure and reliable," Mr Gilmore said.

"In these circumstances, Minister Cullen has no option but to tender his resignation as Minister for the Environment and Local Government."