Electronic voting in the Republic of Ireland the Government of Ireland established the Independent Commission on Electronic Voting and Counting at Elections to examine the proposed system. It was dissolved in 2006. The Commission issued a series of reports reviewing the proposed system and comparing it to the existing electoral system: "The Commission can recommend the voting and counting equipment as follows: The prime issue was the lack of verifiability by the absence of an audit mechanism or verified paper trail. The former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern had defended the flawed system in the Dáil, bemoaning the use of ""stupid old pencils"". The voting machines bought by the
Public service of the Republic of Ireland of the civil service is the Secretary General to the Government, currently Martin Fraser. The Secretary General to the Government is a dual-hatted position as they also head up the Department of the Taoiseach, a government department analogous to a cabinet office in other countries. The Civil Service of the State however is a relatively small component of the overall civil service, and its members are expected to be absolutely independent of the government, in addition to normal political independence which is expected. The Civil Service of the State typically comprises specialised agencies such as the Revenue Commissioners, Central Statistics