€160,000 so far to store 240 machines in Wexford warehouse
THE electronic voting machines gathering dust in Wexford since 2004 have cost the tax payer around €160,000.
Wexford's Returning Officer Marie Garahy confirmed that the 240 e- voting machines have been stored in the one location, understood to be in the Sinnottstown Lane area, since they first arrived in the county almost eight years ago.
From 2004 to 2010, a total of €143,235 has been spent on storing the 240 e-voting machines in Wexford town. This includes rent and associated costs.
Ms Garahy, who is responsible for the machines stored in Wexford, said it's too early to factor in last year's costs into that total yet.
She confirmed that they have had the one landlord, as well as location, for the e-voting machines, though the rent has changed over the years, which has caused substantial changes in the cost of storage from year to year.
The cost started out at almost € 17,000 in 2004 and peaked at over € 25,000 in 2008 and 2009, but was back down to just over € 21,000 again in 2010.
Ms Garahy said she secured further rent reductions for 2011 and 2012, though the government is hoping all the machines will have been taken off their hands by the end of this year.
