"Electronic Voting: It's Easy", reads the Department of the Environment and Local Government's newest election leaflet, and it's hard to disagree.
Just walk up to the booth, punch in your preferred order of candidates, each one handily identified by a photograph and a party emblem. Any mistakes? Simply press the button opposite the candidate whose preference you wish to cancel and, hey presto, it and all lower preferences are deleted.
When you're finished hit the "Cast Vote" button and, within minutes of the close of polling, your constituency result could be available.
Quick, easy - but is it safe?
"Absolutely," said the Minister, Mr Dempsey, as he publicly demonstrated the process for the first time at Dublin's Custom House yesterday.
The Dutch-designed electronic system was chosen for being "secure, accurate and reliable" while providing secrecy, he said. The Nedap/ Powervote system has been in use in the Netherlands for the past 10 years, as well as in Cologne and Düsseldorf, albeit with a different form of voting to the Republic's PR-STV.
