Seymour Crawford (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)

There are only three of the 166 Members present in the Chamber. There are committees sitting and other activities taking place around the Houses, but such work is not visible to the general public. From that point of view, we need Dáil reform and then it might be easier for the general public to understand why there are 166 Members elected to this House who try to do their best on behalf of their constituents.

This Bill is fairly simple in many respects. Its objective is to implement the recommendations of the report of the independent Constitutency Commission which was published in 2004. I welcome this opportunity to speak on that. The most recent report by that commission revealed interesting information which would have major implications for my constituency of Cavan-Monaghan, if the current structures were to continue to remain in place.

A document produced by the commission shows County Louth at the top of the graph and County Monaghan at the bottom of it, in that, Cavan-Monaghan has a population of just over 109,000 or to put it another way 21,828 people per TD as compared to County Louth which had almost a population of 102,000, or 25,455 people per TD. If this trend were to continue over the next few years, with the population of Louth increasing at a much higher rate than that of Cavan-Monaghan, a new commission would have to consider adding an extra seat in County Louth, taking one from its neighbouring constituency of Cavan-Monaghan, or alternatively changing the boundaries. The third alternative would be to increase the seats at national level.

This whole situation raises a question about the major increases in population in counties such as Meath and Louth compared to Cavan-Monaghan. This deserves some analysis. From 1996 to the last census in 2002, the population of County Louth increased by almost 10,000, or 10.5%, while that of County Meath, which will have an extra TD under this Bill, increased by more than 24,000, or 22%, during the same period. The population of County Cavan increased by 3,600, or 6.8%, with that of County Monaghan increasing by 1,280, just 2.5%, the lowest increase in the country.

Cavan-Monaghan is a Border area which suffered continuously as a result of the Northern Troubles and all that went with that history. However, it is clear from these figures that it has also suffered from lack of Government commitment to jobs and infrastructure and, especially in the case of County Monaghan, failure to benefit from Government decentralisation. One only has to look at the failure of Government to provide a reasonable level of decentralisation for the county town of Monaghan, and there is still no confirmation of the 85 jobs for Carrickmacross.

This commission report, together with the census figures, indicates that there is a serious lack of commitment to the Border area. If it had not been for IFI funding, INTERREG and the Peace and Reconciliation funding, there is no doubt the situation would be even worse. It is clear, however, that in many cases this funding, which was supposed to be additional to normal Exchequer funding, was used as a replacement. The Taoiseach admitted that to me in this House some months ago.

The commission's report has certain implications for the future. It states that the population of Cavan-Monaghan warrants an allocation of closer to five seats than four. It also makes clear that neither county has a sufficient population to form a constituency of its own. It stated:

Every alternative to the present constituency formation in Cavan-Monaghan involves the transfer of territory to or from an adjoining constituency, thus breaching both a county and a provincial boundary. Furthermore, any transfer into the constituency would involve joining all or part of three counties in a single constituency. The existing variance of -7.5% [this is the highest downward variation in the country] is within the limits accepted by previous commissions and enacted into law. Furthermore, the difficulties in adjoining constituencies can be addressed without involving the Cavan-Monaghan constituency. The Commission concluded that, in all the circumstances, retention of the existing constituency is justified in the context of its terms of reference. However, if current population trends continue, the case for a reduction in the seat allocation to this constituency may arise in the future.

It is no secret that as the Dáil is currently constructed, and taking into account that the Ceann Comhairle is one of the five sitting Deputies in Cavan-Monaghan, we will only have a four seater if the current position remains on election day. We will be down to four seats this year.

According to the constituency commission, if the present trend continues, we could easily find ourselves in a situation where at the following election, even without the Ceann Comhairle, we might still have just four seats. This has serious implications for a constituency like Cavan-Monaghan, which stretches from Dundalk to near Sligo. It is one of the biggest constituency land masses in the country. Being the only Fine Gael Deputy in the constituency since the last election, I know how difficult it is to provide a service in this area. I put on the record that this danger exists and that something realistic must be done to ensure the Border areas are not denuded.

At one stage, County Monaghan was linked to parts of Meath and Louth. In recent months, I had the pleasure of working with people in the Kells area, which was originally serviced by my former colleague, the late John Francis Conlan, who was TD for Monaghan, part of Meath and part of Louth. The Government and the Opposition must examine why the population has not increased in the Monaghan area in particular, in line with other areas. It is worth examining the current situation.

There was much publicity in the past year about new plans to build houses in rural areas, and they all sound grandiose. I recall as a child when the Doapey flax and corn mill were in operation. My late father could recall when 40 working men lived in the townland of Augnacue, with their wives and families, but there is only one working man, with his wife and two daughters, living in the townland today. Someone who wants to build two houses in an area in north Monaghan where there are 300 documented jobs received the following reply from Monaghan County Council:

The proposed site for two dwellings is located in an area deemed as being, 'under strong urban influence,' in the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government's 'Sustainable Rural Housing Guidelines.' The applicant has not provided adequate justification for the proposed site as required in accordance with the Guidelines.

Taken in conjunction with the existing and permitted development in the area the proposed development would give rise to an excessive, suburban type density of development in this unserviced rural area. The proposed development would, therefore, be contrary to the provisions of the Ministerial Guidelines and contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area.

These are the guidelines under which we are currently working in a county whose population increased by only 2.5% in the past four years.

I can understand guidelines such as these applying to counties such as Meath, the population of which increased by 22.5%, Louth with an increase of 10.5%, Kildare or elsewhere. Given the imposition of such a law by the Government at a time when it is shouting in public that it is encouraging the building of private dwellings, it is no wonder we in County Monaghan are witnessing a decline in population. This must be dealt with seriously by the Government. We must ensure that county development plans are passed only if they meet certain ministerial criteria and are workable on the ground, and that the 40 working people who were in the townland of Augnacue are replaced by 40 more.

Another aspect to building private dwellings is that one must prove one comes from the area. In an area that has been denuded to such an extent over the past seven years, we should be pleased anyone is prepared to build and work in County Monaghan.

Consider the issue of electronic voting. There are many ways in which the decline of the population in County Monaghan could be addressed if we had available to us the €50 million that was spent on electronic voting. This sum has gone to waste. The Government totally ignored the concerns of the Opposition, which did not oppose electronic voting just for the sake of doing so. It had genuine concerns, yet the legislation to introduce electronic voting was bulldozed through the House. I want to ensure that there will be a paper trail when electronic voting is reintroduced and that the system will be foolproof and not present an opportunity for somebody to pull a stroke.

Technology is the way forward. The banks have introduced technology to allow business to be conducted electronically and we all use it. The Department of Agriculture and Food has introduced it to a lesser extent. Its system is still not foolproof but is working to a certain degree. Many other organisations have introduced electronic means of doing business and every one of these systems has a paper trail. We pointed this out in the Dáil before the general election but were ignored. We want to ensure that electronic voting, when sanctioned by the commission, is introduced properly.

I waited for two or three days before knowing whether I was to be elected in the last general election, but at least I was declared elected after the marathon count. Elections do not represent an easy time for anybody. It was not easy for my colleague Nora Owen, the first person to lose a seat in an election using electronic voting. There should be a happy medium involving both traceability and consultation before announcement of election results.

Deputy McGuinness spoke about the cost of elections and the amount each candidate is allowed to spend. The latter should be decreased. The money should also be accounted for properly. When I consider some of the election literature circulated in my area and the behaviour of certain candidates in addition to the costs of elections in Northern Ireland, I wonder how much money is accounted for. Some people seem to have a great deal more than others to spend on elections. A person should not be elected simply because he or she is extremely wealthy. This is American-style politics and I want to stay away from it in Ireland.

There should be clear guidelines stating on what election candidates can spend their money. If a candidate brings his workers into a pub for tea and sandwiches, or whatever happens to be served therein, he does not have to list it as an expense. However, if he brings the workers into a restaurant where they can have a proper rest for an hour, this is chargeable. This is just a mini-example of some of the issues that need to be addressed. Above all, we must ensure that every candidate declares his expenses accurately. Election should not depend on money. In this regard, are ordinary Members working on a level playing pitch with Ministers? I do not accept that they are. Ministers have certain benefits and certain activities need to be monitored clearly and sorted out.

Deputy McGuinness referred to the expense of promoting policies. I hope some of the policies advocated during the next election campaign are worth more than some of those that were advocated during the last one. When I consider some of the advertisements placed in newspapers, the leaflets delivered by hand and some of the promises made regarding my hospital — I make no apology for calling Monaghan General Hospital "my hospital"——

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