Jerry Cowley (Mayo, Independent)

——and, unfortunately, they saw the train coming down the track. It is obvious that people recognise that Independent Members have the capacity, which they have utilised in the past, to exert an effect on Government above and beyond their numbers. One need only recall how Deputy Gregory made a multimillion pound deal with the then Government and the influence exerted by Deputy Healy-Rae to recognise the balance of power effect of a small number of Independents. It is amazing what can be done in such circumstances. If people do not believe that, they need only look to the PDs and note their small number of members yet the effect they have above and beyond their numbers because they have incorporated their policies into the programme for Government. There is no reason Independents could not do that and they will do that. These are the issues that matter to the people. If there are Members representing the issues that matter to the people in such numbers and the electorate has that power to return sufficient Deputies to make a difference, they will make a difference.

People view Independent Deputies as very much a credible alternative who would put forward policies on issues on a common platform which they would put before the people in a general election campaign, and the people would then be in a position to return many more Independents. The numbers of Independents doubled in this Dáil and in the next Dáil, at the very least, 21 plus Independents might be elected. I do not believe Independents would be so arrogant as to state in advance they would not speak to any group who would be capable of forming a Government. That is my opinion. The name of the game is to implement the people's policies, not to advance the party agenda. It is the latter that has got in the way of solving the issues facing the people of the west, north west and so on.

I do not doubt that many members of political parties are genuine but the political party agenda and the centralising policy of the parties, get in the way. That has been the case since the formation of the State, and party agenda is more of the same.

That issue is the difference between the Independent alliance or any proposed Independent alliance and the political parties. The political parties are not people-centred or issues-centred. The Independent alliance is organised on the basis of policies. The alliance is about people, not power, and that is the difference.

One need only reflect on what happened in this Dáil and what may happen in the next Dáil. Independent Deputies represent a highly credible percentage of the total Members of Dáil Éireann. It is obvious that members of the electorate have great potential in this regard and the power is in their hands. That should never be forgotten by the political parties and their hangers-on who work out the permutations and combinations and have it all solved. The people have the power are prepared to use it and I am convinced they will use it.

There are crucial issues that unite Independents and drive them to seek election to the Dáil in the first instance. In addressing those common issues, which are very clear, Independents can go forward on a common platform.

There is a great need to protect the rural population. Remote areas, in particular, and gutted inner city areas are opposite ends of the spectrum but they are equally depopulated and neglected. All those areas deserve to have proper representation from their Deputies and not lose such representation as is currently happening.

The more representation an area has, the greater chance it has of having access to better services. I have often spoken about the vicious circle, which I have observed, of services being lost in rural areas with the continuing trend of depopulation. If one can break the vicious circle by providing the necessary services, one can make a difference. That is what Deputy Gregory did with his multimillion pound deal for Dublin inner city. He made a difference by securing the resources to put in place the necessary services to retain the population and give new life to an area. Independents have the know-how to do that, to represent people's real needs and to do something about meeting them. They can feel the pain of the people's neglect and can cry from the heart for equality and justice to halt the decline, whether it is happening in an inner city or a rural area. The only way to break the vicious circle of continuing depopulation is by the provision of adequate infrastructure. The lack of such provision has been the difficulty.

Currently we are awaiting an announcement regarding the western rail corridor, in respect of which provision is extremely important. From a value for money perspective, it makes great sense to support the west by supporting the western rail corridor, which is the largest and most important piece of infrastructure in the west. This important infrastructure is lying fallow, which needs to change. The big fear everyone has, and it is a real fear, is that the political parties will repeat the same old story. It is expected that the political parties will just throw money at the most populated part of the region and forget about the remainder of it until the year dot. That would be par for the course for the political parties but I hope I am wrong. I hope the Minister will announce funding which is front-loaded for the development of the entire western rail corridor. The Minister, Deputy Ó Cuív's, idea of a CLÁR area, which is based on the greatest areas of depopulation and deprivation, should be applied to the western rail corridor and the money invested in Mayo and Sligo. These are the areas that need to have the funding front-loaded to ensure that balanced regional development will occur.

The cost of the Luas and other developments in Dublin is significant. There is currently mention of a third terminal for Dublin Airport. When I spoke about a second terminal at Knock Airport there was a right hullabaloo about it. Why does it make sense to have 17 million people travelling to the east of the country, when less than half a million people are travelling to the west to an international airport which is a wonderful facility. It would make much more sense for people to use that airport rather than trying to pile more people into the congested Dublin area where traffic is reduced to ass and cart pace. People cannot get in or out of the city, yet there is talk of a third terminal while a second terminal at Knock will not be considered.

When I talk about a second terminal at Knock, I am referring to a proper apron where there is a rapid turnaround time to allow a number of jet aircraft to arrive on schedule at the airport. The Government has not invested money in Knock Airport. It has treated it just like another local airport and not a wonderful catalyst for the whole west and north west area. It never recognised it as the wonderful international airport which it is. Because all the funding has been invested in Cork and Dublin airports, it means that Knock Airport will not realise its full potential. If people are talking in mad terms about putting second and third terminals into Dublin, why not put that development into Knock, including the roads leading in and out of Mayo and so on? Why not put that money into the western rail corridor, which would make much more sense than further depopulating the area?

The vicious circle continues with loss of services. It can only be broken by adequate infrastructure. Whether one lives in Ballycroy, County Mayo, or Tallaght, County Dublin, the need for adequate resources and supporting services is the same. Whether one lives in Kildare or wherever, there needs to be the infrastructure to support houses. There needs to be playgrounds and adequate resources for people to live in an area.

The creation of three-seat constituencies in rural areas damages the equality of representation. This Bill will see the new configuration of constituencies in North Connaught-North Leinster area with three-seaters named Sligo-North Leitrim and Roscommon-South Leitrim as well as a four-seater in Longford-Westmeath. The division of County Leitrim into two constituencies, Sligo-North Leitrim and Roscommon-South Leitrim, will make it next to impossible for Ireland's least populated county to return a Deputy and will mean that Leitrim will not have any quality representation in the Dáil. It would be a shame if there was not representation in the Dáil of the calibre of Deputy Harkin, who did wonderful work before she was elected to the House for the development of the west, and continues to do so both at Dáil and EU level. Were it not an independent commission, people might cynically say that there is something afoot here. I was interested that Fianna Fáil members were not included in the list Deputy Healy read.

The Government should re-examine the legislation that requires each constituency to have at least three and no more than five Dáil seats. Six seats should be allowed in a constituency where county boundaries determine a natural constituency. This would give greater freedom of choice and representation in counties Tipperary, Kerry, Cork, Meath, Donegal, Sligo-Leitrim and Roscommon.

The Bill provides for two fewer five-seat constituencies than exist currently and favours establishment parties, thus preventing new voices from entering the Dáil. My colleague, Deputy McGrath, has called the loss of one of the five seats in his Dublin North Central constituency an attack on democracy, with which I agree. It would be a tragedy if the cold undemocratic hand of so-called electoral reform was to extinguish one of Dáil Éireann's brightest stars. Electoral reform is a misnomer. Electoral gerrymandering would be a more correct description of what is going on here. I wish Deputy McGrath every good luck. I hope he will be returned to the Dáil because it would be tragic if he was not.

Any loss of representation in the Dáil runs counter to democracy. The Bill provides for 18 three-seat constituencies and 12 five-seat constituencies. The move away from five-seat constituencies is regrettable and damaging because it makes it more difficult for small parties and independents to grow and gain seats.

I do not believe electronic voting should be used in the future. Many people here said they were against electronic voting from the beginning. There is a saying, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". Why should we do away with something the people enjoy? We have already lost more than €52 million of taxpayers' money on this fiasco called electronic voting, and we will lose more. All these machines are still stored away. It would be better to cut our losses and retain the system we currently have, which serves us well and fits in ideally with the blood sport which is politics in Ireland. People are trying to do away with hare coursing, with which I agree. However, I would like to see one blood sport retained, that is, the current system of voting. It is a good system which people enjoy and it should be retained.

The former Deputy, Paddy Harte, said that the Constitution states that each constituency shall have not less than three members, and the 1997 Electoral Act says not more than five members. Dáil Éireann has the power to alter that law, and rightly so. Mr. Harte said it is time to re-examine the Act and consider amending the law to allow six seats in a constituency where the county boundaries determine the natural constituency, with which I agree. A new six-seat constituency law would give greater freedom of choice and be more democratic in Tipperary, Kerry, Cork South and East, Meath, Donegal, Sligo-Leitrim and Roscommon.

I agree that people come into the Dáil to do their best but the political party agenda is getting in the way of what people wish to do. There is another way. When there are permutations and combinations by the political parties and their friends in the media and elsewhere, they should remember there is another alternative which the people recognise, namely, the independent alternative, which is a credible one.

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