THE Irish government has reached a deal with the company behind the controversial electronic voting system in order to test its accuracy for the first time.

More than six months after the Commission on Electronic Voting refused to sanction the use of electronic machines in the local and European elections, it is only now getting the information it needs to test the system.

The commission, which is due to report back to the government before the end of the year, had asked for a copy of the full source code used to write the software that runs the voting system.

Nedap Powervote, the manufacturers, had refused to provide the code on the basis that it is intellectual property and could be copied by others.

The government has now agreed to hire a private company, one acceptable to both sides. The company will be forced to sign a non-disclosure agreement and will have to provide security for the codes.

The cost of the project, likely to take several months, could be significant. The government has already spent more than €50m on the system and is paying tens of thousands annually to store the machines in town halls around the country.

In a report last April, the commission acknowledged that it would have to see the source code before it could allow the machines to be used in a poll.

The code is the language used to write computer programmes. By testing it, experts can spot if there are flaws.

The company hired to assess the electronic voting code will have to examine the programs that register votes and count them.

“Recently the commission has sought access to the full source code from Nedap,” the environment department confirmed. “As this source code is a proprietary product designed and perfected over 20 years in Holland and Germany, there are issues of commercial sensitivity and intellectual property rights to be considered.”

The department said that in a “spirit of co-operation”, Nedap was willing to allow full access to a suitable company that signs a non-disclosure agreement and that implements security procedures to protect the integrity of the information.

Joe McCarthy, a chartered engineer and critic of electronic voting systems, warned yesterday that even if the full source code is tested and shown to be accurate, the government will still be under pressure to introduce a paper trail element to the system.

“If a company tests the codes and says it is well written, we still only have their word for it,” said McCarthy.

Nedap Powervote has argued that the system does not need a paper trail and that it is trustworthy without one.

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