Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)

Ba mhaith liom mo chuid ama a roinnt leis an tAire Stáit, an Teachta Devins. As Deputy Brady has outlined, this report has had a serious effect on the county and the constituencies of Meath East and Meath West. The last review, which people still talk about, was particularly devastating for the people of north Meath when most of the parishes of Kilbeg, Kilmainhamwood, Moynalty, Nobber and Drumconrath were transferred into Meath East. Thanks to Deputy Brady's support, I was elected to the House by the votes of people from that area. I am grateful to Deputy Brady and the people of the beautiful area for that.

The Constituency Commission has an important and difficult job to do. Deputies should not complain too much because it is a privilege to be elected to the House from any constituency. Perhaps the terms of reference under which the commission operates should be slightly stricter and further terms should be added. This is particularly true of County Meath, as referred to by Deputy Brady. There are several parishes, from Kilbeg parish to Summerhill, that are split between the two constituencies. A number of submissions were made by independent people to the commission, suggesting that these parishes be united and included in Meath East. Having done that, the town of Kells, including the district electoral divisors of Kells, Maperath and Staholmog, would not have to be moved into Meath West. The unity of the parish boundary would then have been recognised by the commission, a factor that is not in its terms of reference but should be included. Parishes in rural Ireland are the centre of activity, through the church, football teams and schools. Deputy Brady and I represent Kilberry, Oristown, Kilbeg, Moynalty, Johnstown parishes and the Navan area, which are split between Meath East and Meath West, so we co-operate on issues in those areas. It would be far better for the people if they had one set of representatives rather than two. We find ourselves tripping over each other.

Tá mé ag smaoineamh freisin faoi cheantair Gaeltachta ar nós Baile Ghib. Tá cuid den cheantar sin i nDáilcheantar an Mhí Thiar, ach tá an chuid is mó de i nDáilcheantar an Mhí Thoir. Bheadh sé i bhfad níos fearr do muintir na háite sin dá mbeidís sa Dháilcheantar chéanna. The importance of the parish boundary should be recognised by the commission.

The importance of the county boundary should also be recognised. Some 17,000 people are moving from a constituency in County Meath to one in County Louth for electoral purposes. The people in the area are not happy because they identify with County Meath, not County Louth. There is a strong rivalry with Louth. More important, the area of Meath East that has been moved, where I live, is a particularly needy area because of the massive increase in development over the past ten years. The population has more than doubled in some parts and these people will be moved into Louth, where they will be a marginal feature of the Louth constituency. It will be difficult to elect a candidate from that area and those who put their trust in me delivering facilities and building community spirit, which is happening slowly but surely, will be seriously disadvantaged at a national level. In that case the commission should have adhered to the terms of reference in so far as it could and respected the county boundary line. It was a bad decision although I understand the difficulties the commission has in balancing numbers. However, it did not think of adding to the number of Deputies in the House, which it could have done without much controversy. That might have solved some problems.

The last Deputy resident in Meath East was the late Mr. Jimmy Tully. I do not anticipate reverting to that situation, where politicians are too smart. Determining constituency boundaries is a difficult job and one that politicians cannot dictate. It backfired in the case of Jimmy Tully but also elsewhere, even on our side. I advocate an independent commission but one that considers county boundaries, parish boundaries and the needs of new areas. Deputy Darragh O'Brien may refer to Swords, which is in a similar position to Meath East in that it is a growing area. It needs to be represented by the same set of representatives who can plead the case. The Louth Deputies will not focus on Meath East and its particular needs.

We should not complain too much because we are in a privileged position. I am grateful to the people of Meath East, most of which was new to me at the last general election, as were the people. I was new to them and with the help of the Minister for Transport, Deputy Dempsey, Deputy Brady and Deputy Wallace, I got to know the area and the people got to know me and put their trust in me. I agree with Deputy Brady that this issue must be re-examined independently.

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