THE Department of the Environment is considering sealing its controversial electronic voting machines in anti-moisture containers and storing them in disused army buildings.

The move would hope to reduce the €700,000 annual cost of storing the 7,500 units in 25 premises throughout the country.

Environment officials had asked the Department of Defence to identify suitable facilities for storage. A hangar at Gormanstown aerodrome in Meath has been suggested to accommodate a significant number of the machines, but there are concerns about atmospheric conditions there, including dampness.

To protect the computers, officials are exploring the possibility of sealing them in containers to guard against condensation and to provide additional security.

The department is also considering whether it might be easier to improve atmospheric conditions in the hangar.

Officials travelled to Gormanstown to inspect the building and contacted Nedap/Powervote, the Dutch manufacturer of the machines, which said it would be appropriate to use sealed containers. A department spokesman said “no decision had been made” on where the machines would end up. Other buildings apart from the hangar would be needed.

The electronic voting system, which has cost €51m, is still being tested by independent experts and it is thought unlikely that it will be used in next year’s general election. Although the Department of Defence will charge to store the machines, the cost would be a fraction of the amount currently paid, €696,000 per annum.

Dick Roche, the environment minister, has said the use of the system depends on the progress made by the Commission on Electronic Voting to assess its security and accuracy.

Nedap/Powervote — which made €4.2m profit in one year from doing business with the Irish government, according to its most recent accounts — insists its system calculates votes correctly according to Ireland’s complex counting rules.

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