Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

Whatever about the number of groups that will be able to participate in the process, the crucial point is that the person to be elected will be resident in the neighbourhood and registered on the Register of Electors. Only such a person can stand for election. Many different groups will be registered and they are the only ones entitled to vote.

It is not intended to have a plebiscite of all those living in the area to select a representative. We are talking about three people — two people for the consultantative group and one person for the agency. The more efficient way of doing this — and the election process will have to take place three times in a ten year period — is by working directly with the groups in the area. The aim is to be inclusive, while narrowing the scope to ensure that the representative elected is a genuine representative of the area. I have the utmost confidence that the local community will be able to do this.

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