Paddy McHugh (Galway East, Independent)

They will continue to elect such candidates in the future. Take the west, for example. There is an Independent Deputy in Clare, Galway East, Mayo and Sligo, as well as in Cavan-Monaghan. In the past, these areas displayed bedrock support for the Minister's party and it is encouraging to see that people are now looking outside the circle, taking notice of what politicians are doing and not doing, and acting accordingly. I am glad the west is awake and people are taking action.

The matter of so-called "non-party" candidates, as described on the ballot paper, was raised earlier in the debate. The word "Independent" cannot be used on ballot papers. This is a relic of the past. "Non-party" is a negative expression at the best of times. Such a label conjures up a non-entity. I ask the Minister to go the extra few inches and bring in a change that will allow the use of the word "Independent" on ballot papers.

The media must also be held accountable for the manner in which they describe and report on the activities of Independent Deputies. Pollsters, who carry out opinion polls, use the term "Others", as if these are people with whom nobody should have any association. In other words, such people should be cast back to the end of the pile. This is a terrible word to use to describe any category of persons.

I do not have much more to say on this legislation because it is relatively simple. I agree with my colleague, Deputy Healy, that it does not go far enough. Surely anyone who wishes to put his or her name forward for election should be entitled to do so without any impediments. Ultimately, the people decide and Government or political parties should not put anything in the way of them having a free choice. However, the only way they can have a free choice is that anyone who wishes should be allowed to put his or her name forward.

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