Comment by Phil Hogan

I am glad to bring this sorry episode to a conclusion on behalf of the taxpayer. From the outset, this project was ill-conceived and poorly delivered by my political predecessors and as a result it has cost the taxpayer €55 million. While this is a scandalous waste of public money, I am happy to say that we will not incur any further costs in the disposal of the machines. I want to finally draw a line under the electronic voting project and to see that the equipment is disposed of properly. The recovery process will be carried out in line with national legislation and EU regulations on the treatment of waste electrical and electronic equipment. The electronic voting machines will now be dismantled. Whatever elements of the equipment can be reused will be reused. Unverified source (2012)