Fianna Fáil backbenchers have asked the Minister for the Environment to extend the deadline for the register of electors which is next Saturday, November 25th. Cork South West TD, Denis O'Donovan, said last night that he, along with other Fianna Fáil backbenchers, raised the issue at a meeting of the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party last week.
Speaking on the RTÉ This Week programme, Deputy O'Donovan said it was wrong that people have been knocked off the register without prior notice.
After the programme he told The Irish Times he is hoping the Minister will listen to the backbencher's wishes and consider extending the deadline. "A lot of people are very upset by the current situation" he added.
However, a spokesman for Mr Roche last night said there are no plans at this point to extend the deadline for the register.
Meanwhile, Mr O'Donovan, who chaired the Dáil committee investigating Circuit Court Judge Brian Curtin, said he believed one of the "possible reasons" the judge "resigned irrevocably" last week was because the committee dealing with his impeachment would have started to hear evidence.
He said the committee had not seen any of the evidence gathered by the "computer expert" but this would have begun to emerge "hour on hour" once the hearing started last Monday.
Mr O'Donovan said he believes if it had been in a position to continue its work, the Dáil and Seanad would have been able to vote decisively on whether to impeach the judge or not.
He also confirmed that there had been a request from Judge Curtin's counsel, which asked the committee to prepare a report on the judge's health for the Dáil. This would have led to the Dáil and Seanad voting him out of office on health grounds, with a full pension. He added that the committee never entertained the idea.
It is understood that Judge Curtin has yet to submit his supporting medical documentation to the Department of Justice required before an assessment is made whether he is eligible for early retirement on medical grounds.