Cyprian Brady (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to the debate on the Bill, which, in its own way, is controversial. Anyone who has ever stood for election is aware of the fragile nature of people's votes and how difficult it is to encourage people to vote. Anything that interferes with people's ability, right or privilege to vote must be treated warily.

I have considered the detail of the Bill, the purpose of which is to revise constituencies, provide for the number of members to be elected for those constituencies and revise the procedures to be followed by future constituency commissions and also those relating to the nomination of non-party candidates. The Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2008 aims to modernise an electoral law which is extremely complicated and update it in light of changes in population demographics. Parts 2 and 3 deal with the revision of Dáil and European Parliament constituencies following the implementation of the recommendations contained in the Constituency Commission's report on such constituencies in 2007.

The commission was established to report on the constituencies in light of issues relating to representation that were illustrated in the 2006 census. The information collated in a census is extremely important when it comes to deciding how our democracy will operate into the future.

Part 4 of the Bill outlines procedures to be followed by the Constituency Commission. The main consequence of the provisions it contains will be that future commissions will be established on the publication by the Central Statistics Office of its interim findings. Prior to the most recent general election, we debated whether the commission would be capable of reporting on such preliminary findings. Collating and assimilating the level of information garnered in a census is a complicated business. The changes being introduced in the Bill will enable the existing commission and those that will succeed it — if they are put in place — to deal with the complicated issue of deciding upon constituency boundaries and the number of seats in each constituency.

The Bill also provides two alternative procedures for the nomination of non-party candidates at European Parliament and local elections. These procedures will be in line with those put in place in respect of Dáil elections in the Electoral (Amendment) Act 2007. The provisions in this regard are outlined in Parts 5 and 6 of the Bill.

The dual system being introduced in the Bill, whereby people may obtain assents or put forward deposits, is the fairest and most equitable method of dealing with this issue. Under the Bill, 60 assentors will be required in respect of a European Parliament election and 15 will be needed for a local election. The level of deposit required — €1,800 for a European Parliament election and €100 for other elections — is reasonable. I am glad this system is being put in place.

Under the Bill, total Dáil membership will remain at 166 across 43 constituencies. A major debate took place in the past on whether there should be an increase in the number of Members of this House. In my opinion, the decision that has been taken in this regard is correct. As previous speakers stated, the division, etc., of constituencies has had a negative effect on long-serving public representatives. The sad aspect of this is that it affects the people those individuals represent. Confusion can arise in respect of changes to boundaries, particularly when these cross county or parish lines, and can lead to a lack of representation, which proved to be the case in some recent instances.

The purpose of the changes is to ensure, across the State, equality of representation in the Dáil and at the European Parliament. The 2006 census illustrated the disproportionality in certain constituencies. As a result of recent changes in population, some constituencies are either over-represented or under-represented. While my constituency, Dublin Central, has remained unchanged, I acknowledge that changes in other constituencies have given rise to problems. Previous speakers referred to the constituencies that have been affected. The most obvious is Leitrim, a small county that is under-represented. Despite receiving almost 200 submissions on the issue, the commission has almost guaranteed that there will be no Deputy from Leitrim in the House. Dublin North, which is adjacent to my constituency, is massively under-represented but has remained as a four-seater. These issues must be considered and addressed in due course.

Although my constituency has not changed on this occasion, I am aware of the implications of changes such as those to which I refer. Prior to the 1997 general election, my constituency, Dublin Central, was altered such that it spanned what is probably the most natural boundary in the country, namely, the River Liffey, and took in areas of the southside of the city that had no relevance to or connection with those on the northside. The commission appointed before the 2002 election decided to correct the mistake made by its predecessor, which gave rise to serious consequences and a great deal of confusion among constituents regarding by whom they were represented. It is difficult enough to encourage people to vote in the first instance. If confusion such as that to which I refer is created prior to and during an election campaign, it gives rise to extreme difficulties. As a result, people lose out and the level of representation they enjoy can deteriorate.

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