Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)

This Bill will pass, as the previous speaker has stated, but I am not certain at this stage that it should. We all believe the establishment of an independent commission to consider boundary revisions because of shifts in population, such as increases or decreases, was a very good idea. We all have an interest in the democratic process but those of us with a specific personal interest should never be part of the boundary process. Everyone would agree that the independence of the commission is vital.

Being independent does not make it infallible, although some of the lads behind me might not think that true. I know two of the people on this commission. Despite the fact that the people are very eminent, well read and versed in politics, what they have done in redrawing in this case makes no sense in many areas.

I will speak about my own constituency as that is the place we all know best. When it was last redrawn, Cork North-Central went down to four seats for all sorts of reasons. I take the view in life that one takes the hand that is dealt. It went to four seats because a five-seater constituency could not be sustained due to population shift.

This shift is explained away very easily as the type of infrastructural development which took place on the south side of Cork city was not matched by the same type of infrastructure and development on the north side. On the south side there are ring roads, colleges, university hospitals, CITs etc., and with regard to the north side, it would not take me too long to list what we do not have. As a result of the uneven development of the city, the population made a clear shift and the extra seat could not be sustained.

The general election before last, we were dealing with people out as far as St. Finbarr's Hospital. Anybody who knows Cork city would realise that was an unnatural division. We were so deep into Cork South-Central in order to take chunks of population to shore up the five-seater as to be unreasonable. People rightly asked why we were out there as we could not possibly represent them. It was too far away.

We got a new commission and the least we can expect from a commission sitting to redraw boundaries is that it has a knowledge of the country's geography. Cork North-Central now runs from the north channel of the Lee to the River Blackwater, with Dripsey on the one hand and Mallow on the other. It came home to me very forcibly at that stage. The people are all lovely and have welcomed us with open arms. They are glad to have people representing them and they are the same as people everywhere in the world who want representation. That is not the difficulty.

The difficulty is that at 11.10 p.m one night I found myself leaving Mallow to drive to Cork city. It is not a two hour drive by any stretch of the imagination but takes approximately half an hour. The notion that a constituency would be redrawn in this way clearly comes from people who did not know the area. Some 14,000 people in Limerick now find themselves in Kerry, so there is clearly no understanding of the area or geography involved. At the same time, people in the constituency of the Ceann Comhairle find that because he will be automatically elected next time, their constituency essentially becomes a two-seater.

There are all sorts of issues that we must deal with. It is incredible the way constituencies have been redrawn. Towns have been split down the middle. I wonder how it was done. Did these people sit down with maps and a biro, taking sections and splitting the country up as best they could? It looks like this in some cases. We cannot say that because we must come in and state the independent commission is a sacred cow that cannot be touched. Being independent does not make it infallible.

As a party we suggest that the commission publish a preliminary review, which would be put to public consultation in order that people with an interest could make submissions. Obvious issues, such as 14,000 people from Limerick going to Kerry, could be stopped. We are serious about proportional representation because the people of this country twice voted for it in referenda, so we must take a very serious look at increasing the sizes of constituencies. Proportional representation is not served by a two-seat constituency. All figures show that the bigger a constituency and the more seats involved, the more true a reflection of proportional representation one gets. That is what we should be looking at.

The terms of reference given to the commission did not help so we must alter them. The idea that we can continue to draw a line on a map just because it fits the population size is wrong. There are natural boundaries in this country which are not just geographical. They deal with population and the type of area, as well as everything else. The commission must begin considering them.

Why must we wait for the definitive census and what is stopping the commission from sitting as soon as preliminary figures are published? There is little between the two figures, barring the people who realise they are not on the register and who register themselves. This would give the commission time to publish preliminary findings and allow people to comment. The commission does not have to alter its findings because people disagree but the obvious issues could be altered. The people sitting on the commission are sensible and will recognise when things are not right.

There is so much in this Bill and yet a full and frank debate is very difficult because politicians are having it but are not supposed to interfere. Clearly, some parts need to be changed. While it is right to have an independent Constituency Commission, we must also correct wrongs where they occur.

Deputy O'Connor is correct that the voting register is a mess. We have not invested sufficient money in gathering the necessary information. Irrespective of our political views or the party to which we belong, it is essential that those who wish to vote are able to do so when they go to a polling station. It is vital, therefore, that we gather the information needed to make democracy work. When this information is collated, either by census or other means, and given to others to complete a task on our behalf, those individuals or bodies should not be above criticism.

The Bill includes blatant anomalies but it will be passed because people — correctly — do not want to interfere with the independence of the Constituency Commission. It has been argued that constituency boundaries will be redrawn again before the next general election because a census is due before the election. In that case, surely we should take our time and modify the terms of reference of the Constituency Commission to enable it to conduct its business properly.

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