Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)

I thank my colleague for sharing time.

I do not know why we are having statements on the Constituency Commission's report after it has been produced. I hate to think what has been cooked underneath the counter. I am sure the Acting Chairman has a passing interest in these matters, especially if it should transpire that any constituency would be seriously and materially affected in anything that might be suggested from here on. I am sure the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Gormley, has the interests of all Members at heart and would not contemplate anything that would militate against the political adventures of the various political groups in the future.

I do not agree with the notion that we should politicise the system as it opens the door to allegations of cronyism, favouritism and all kinds of "isms". A few issues need to be borne in mind. There is merit in what a number of speakers have said. Local areas, local towns and local communities resent very much when their local community is broken up by way of an electoral boundary. For example, if one side of the road is in one constituency and the other side of the road is in another constituency it does not make for good relations or a good turnout at the polls, even on referendum days. That is an issue that needs to be borne in mind.

On this occasion Kildare North received some extra territory from Kildare South. Care should be taken to ensure boundaries remain for as long as possible. If electors are transferred from one constituency to another between every second or third election, they become disaffiliated, for want of a better description, and withdraw from the political arena due to a lack of interest. One interesting case arose in my constituency of Kildare North following the revisions made by the previous Constituency Commission. The village of Killina could not be approached from any other area of north Kildare without travelling into a different constituency and became, to all intents and purposes, an island. John Donne once said no man is an island but some of the things that have come to pass make me believe the contrary. The time available to me is short.

See this speech in context