Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)

One wonders whether Abraham Lincoln was also a parish man. That last contribution lacked only a lorry decked out with flags and perhaps a chapel with a congregation emerging to hear the triumphalist speech. This will not cut ice with Members on this side of the House. However, I am pleased to hear Deputy Cassidy is opposed to this legislation or the elements of it which split county boundaries. I look forward to the Deputy joining the ranks of the Opposition when it counts most, in voting against this Bill.

There is no doubt the importance of the legislation governing our electoral process cannot be overstated. When such legislation is flawed, as this Bill clearly is, it must be opposed in the strongest possible manner. This is what Sinn Féin intends to do. The legislation governing the work of the constituency commission which drew up the recommendations being implemented in this Bill was itself flawed. This should be a matter of the deepest concern to all those committed to retaining the integrity of our electoral process.

Some months ago, I put Sinn Féin's view regarding the constituency commission's recommendations on the record when I raised the matter on the Adjournment. At that time I urged the Minister to reject those recommendations and to introduce legislation to allow the formation of six-seat and seven-seat constituencies, after which the constituency commission should be reconvened. The Minister has failed to do this.

Sinn Féin made a submission to the constituency commission about constituencies for the election of Members to the Dáil. Our submission was based not only on the need to consider boundaries in the context of the 2002 census results but, more importantly, in the context of what constitutes a just representative electoral system. Our concerns centre on the increase in the number of three-seat constituencies. We must consider why these seem to be the favoured option for dealing with population growth and change. Is it because three-seat constituencies have always entirely favoured larger parties such as Fianna Fáil? Does this represent an attempt to protect the political interests of such parties?

By once again increasing the number of three-seat constituencies, this legislation further dilutes the proportionality of our electoral system. This is not in the interest of diversity nor is it in the interest of the people. For the third consecutive commission, the number of five seat constituencies has been cut while the number of three seat constituencies steadily grows. I am concerned the existence of three seat constituencies in certain areas and five seat constituencies in others creates inequality between voters in different parts of the State. Nowhere is that more clearly demonstrated than in the city of Dublin. Almost all the constituencies north of the Liffey have three seats but there are a number of five seat constituencies on the other side of the river. Could it be that the Government does not trust the bulk of the working class people on the northern side of the Liffey to do the right thing at election time? Is it the case that the people from the more leafy lanes on the southern side are prepared to elect what I heard many Ministers describe as "right thinking people"? It is grossly unfair that is the case.

The Government side referred to the independent nature of the commission. That is not good enough. The essential problem is the commission is constrained by legislation to have constituencies sized between three and five seats. Therein lies part of the problem. It is worth contrasting the seven and even nine seat constituencies, which were evident in this State when it was established in the early 1920s, with the mainly three or four seat constituencies in this so-called modern age. It is ironic that the founders of the State — of course, pre-Blueshirt time — had a greater awareness and social conscience by allowing proper representation and proportionality in this Parliament as opposed to what we have now and the current Government.

Proportional representation with a single transferable vote using multi-seat constituencies was not designed with the intention of applying it to three seat constituencies. The number of Members returned per constituency is a crucial component of the Irish electoral system. The higher the number of Members returned per constituency, the greater the proportionality of that system. My party will bring forward amendments to section 6(2)(b) of the Electoral Act 1997 to allow for the formation of six and seven seat constituencies in that larger constituency size adds the quality of extra proportionality to the electoral system as a whole. If accepted, these amendments will restore the positive attributes of the proportional representation single transferable vote system in terms of local accountable representatives and voters being able to make inter and intra party choices.

I reiterate the case alluded to by a number of speakers concerning County Leitrim. My party is opposed to the division of County Leitrim between the two proposed new constituencies of Sligo-North Leitrim and Roscommon-South Leitrim which this Bill will implement. Section 6(2)(c) of the Electoral Act 1997 states that "the breaching of county boundaries shall be avoided as far as practicable". It is unfortunate that is being completely ignored in the case of Leitrim.

Although there was an element of partisan electioneering in Deputy Cassidy's contribution, I accept the points he made about breaching county boundaries and about areas with large population densities which would be much more able to accommodate those changes. If Deputy Cassidy is to carry that conviction through to its logical conclusion, he should oppose this Bill because it does exactly the opposite.

It has caused major concern and upset in County Leitrim. There is a genuine feeling that the splitting of the county will prevent the people of Leitrim from electing a person from that county to the Dáil, perhaps for the foreseeable future. If the amendments I propose regarding the permitted size of a constituency were accepted, the constituency commission could be reconvened to consider the possibility of establishing a six seat constituency comprising the three counties of Sligo, Leitrim and Roscommon and avoid the unacceptable division of County Leitrim between the two proposed new constituencies. This legislation further damages the integrity of our electoral system and will, no doubt, contribute to the growing levels of apathy among voters in particular and the public in general.

The issue of registration was raised by the previous speaker. Rate collectors used to handle registration for the local authority. Since the abolition of rates in 1977 that whole project has been put on the backburner. It is completely haphazard at this stage. The rate collector still visits each locality, will call to a small number of houses and will take a sounding from those people on who has moved into the area, who has died, who is moving on and who should be on the register. It is generally conducted in a haphazard manner. There should be a significant registration drive to ensure all those entitled to vote are registered to do so, otherwise they simply will not count at election time. The next issue is how to manage it.

The previous speaker alluded to the possibility of using An Post for that purpose. That is a wonderful idea but I am concerned that by the time of the next election, there will be no such thing as a postman or a postwoman given this Government's current policies. If there are a few An Post employees left in rural Ireland, they will have no idea who is resident in a house because they will leave post in the green box at the end of the lane or even the end of the townland. They will not have the intimate knowledge of the rural population members of An Post currently have. That is one important element of the work An Post could carry out. Ensuring a proper registration system is put in place would be an additional service for the people and the institutions of this State. It would also require a significant change in Government policy because the thrust to gear the postal service for privatisation will not assist that institution in terms of facilitating the registration drive.

A number of speakers have spoken against the breaching of county boundaries which I fully support. However, the number of seats per constituency is even more important. Three or four seat constituencies do not facilitate proportionality as envisaged under proportional representation single transferable vote system. If that core principle of our electoral system is to be re-established, we must revert to large constituency sizes — perhaps to seven or nine seat constituencies which were in place in the early days of this State.

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