Computers to tackle presidential tally

The presidential election count is to be computerised for the first time. The results from each constituency will be faxed to the count centre at Dublin Castle, where they will be represented on a 20foot screen once they have been approved.

The new system is designed to facilitate both politicians and press, providing the latest figures as soon as they come in. If it is successful it will be used in the future for local and general elections. The electronic format will interpret the figures to provide constituency breakdowns and candidate shares using multimedia technology including graphs, maps, photographs and tables of the results. An electronic tickertape feed at the bottom of the screen will provide constant updates.

There will also be five kiosks available housing touch-screen terminals, where users can check specific data that may not be appearing on the large screen at that moment.

The computerisation comes as a result of the initiative of Mr Peter Greene, head of the count centre at Dublin Castle. It was developed by Trinity Solutions Group, an Irish Internet software company, whose services were enlisted by the Local Government Computer Services Board (LGCSB) three weeks ago. The cost of the new system is estimated to be less than £15,000.

After looking at various ways of representing the information, Trinity Solutions came up with the current model using heavily modified Microsoft channel technology its latest Intranet broadcasting software.

"One of the features is a map of Ireland which can focus on a particular count at any time, and give a colour breakdown of each candidate and how they are doing," says Mr Norman Crowley, managing director of Trinity Solutions.

The company has had 12 people working full-time on the project, writing a full live database which can be mirrored to another as a back-up, with a central NT server controlling the process. All the data will be keyed into one computer, then a test broadcast, emulating how the information will appear on the big screen, will run on another computer. Mr Greene will then approve the information, and submit the data to a central database, from which the big screen will automatically pull the information.

"The information is very easy to determine," says Mr Michael Kelly, director of the LGCSB. "It's an excellent example of what can be done with a bit of imagination."