Steven Matthews (Wicklow, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

Head No. 14 indicates that the commission can appoint consultants or advisers to assist its work on voter education which is important, as Ms Woods has outlined, and inclusion and research, which members have asked about. It is subject to available financial resources and no longer requires the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. It is good that it has independence but who will ultimately decide the commission's financial resources? Is that the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage?

Head No. 26 is about the strategy statement. In sub-head 5(a), it seems that the words "shall" and "may" are used together, which I find slightly confusing. I suggest that we remove the word "may" in sub-head 5(a).

Head No. 65 is about constituency reviews after publication of the preliminary CSO data. A ministerial order is no longer required to look at the representation versus population. That report will be presented within three months, which is positive. Does it trigger that same action for local electoral areas and the make-up of local municipal districts or the numbers that would be represented at local level?