Jimmy Devins (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this important Bill as it will affect every citizen directly in the performance of the bedrock of democracy, namely, their right to vote in the election of Members to Dáil Éireann. It is important that this right to vote and how and where the vote is exercised are essential components of our democracy.

Dáil Éireann has exercised its right to fix the boundaries of constituencies in the past but this was open to the charge of gerrymandering. Interference with the democratic process by any individual or political groups to try to improve their electoral success is wrong. It was in recognition of this possibility that the Electoral Act 1997 was passed. This ensured that an independent commission must be established by the then Minister for the Environment and Local Government once the relevant Central Statistics Office report had been published following a general census.

It is important that this commission is and is seen to be independent. To ensure this, the membership of the commission is specified in the Act. The commission must be chaired by a High Court judge, must include the Clerk of the Dáil, the Clerk of the Seanad, the Secretary General of the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and the Ombudsman. The commission is charged by law to be guided by certain factors, including the number of Deputies to be elected in the country, the number of seats per constituency and other factors that should be considered in so far as is practical. Any commission charged with reporting on such an important issue must be independent of political interference and, as I have outlined, I believe it is. Following the recent publication of the commission's report, there has been much discussion and some commentators purport that this commission's report was influenced by political considerations. Not only was this comment misguided, it was patently wrong.

I will now discuss the Sligo-Leitrim constituency, of which I am a proud representative alongside Deputies Ellis, Perry and Harkin. Sligo-Leitrim is a four-seat constituency and covers both counties in their entirety. Unfortunately, the actual number of people represented there by Deputies makes it the second most overrepresented in the country. The constituency is more than 11% overrepresented when compared with the national average and is only exceeded by Dublin North-West. This has occurred despite the increase in population in both counties Sligo and Leitrim and is mainly due to the country's overall increase in population, especially along the east coast.

As Sligo-Leitrim is over the 5% variance that has been used to decide constituency boundaries since 1961, one can understand the need for a revision of the constituency. However, the breaching of County Leitrim's integrity in this commission's recommendations is more difficult to accept. Any constituency commission should have regard to maintaining the integrity of county boundaries as far as is practical. People have a great affinity with their local parish, in the first instance, and with their county. Dividing a county should be avoided, even though I am aware that this happened in the past. In Leitrim, however, it is particularly poignant because it is one of the smallest counties and has a low population base. I say this even though I am delighted to see the latter increasing.

It is particularly difficult for Leitrim people to see their county divided. The representations I have received from many people living in the county bear testimony to this. If this Bill was published by any Government without the recommendation of the independent constituency commission, I would have great difficulty accepting it. However, as I said, the constituency commission is independent of all political interference and, because of this, the Government is duty bound to accept its findings. To do otherwise would have laid the House open to the charge of political gerrymandering and would bring the whole process into disrepute.

I reiterate that I am not happy with the commission dividing Leitrim, although I understand the reasons behind its decision to take this course of action. I hope the next census will continue to show an increase in the population of Leitrim so that it will be returned to its geographical whole for the following election. I assure the House that I, as a Deputy, will continue to represent the interests of all of Leitrim and Sligo during the lifetime of this Dáil. The new constituency of Sligo-North Leitrim will be in existence for the next Dáil and if the electorate so decides, I will be honoured to continue to represent it.

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