Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)

Deputy Timmins articulated several interesting and worthwhile ideas. There is a case for term limits, although I reserve the right to change my position on that as I get older. Fine Gael's legal advice is the report has been made. I dislike intensely significant aspects of it. The wrong decisions were made in several cases but it would be wrong of us, as politicians, to amend the report. If we were to do that, it would have knock-on effects elsewhere. We have experienced the consequences of gerrymandering in the past and I do not favour us wielding the axe on a report such as this, although I hope the issue can be reviewed. I also hope the House adopts the report. If an election was called using the existing boundaries, it would probably have constitutional effect. We should adopt the report, as published, but an instruction should immediately be given to the boundary commission to resume its deliberations and to examine issues such as the partitioning of towns and counties unnecessarily.

I refer, in particular, to Swords where 12,768 citizens were transferred from the Dublin North constituency to my constituency, Dublin West. They are separated by ten miles from the Blanchardstown-Castleknock area I represent, which is a distinct entity bounded by the River Liffey to the south, the Phoenix Park to the east and the Meath border to the west. There is a ten-mile green belt between Blanchardstown and Swords. Drawing a boundary down the main street of Swords was against everyone's interest and particularly those who live in the town. They will not receive the representation they deserve or that they would have received from the politicians who knew them and who live in the town. This division could have been addressed in another way.

Dublin West is still under represented by 3.43% while Dublin North is also slightly under represented by 3.74%. It would have been possible to transfer at least 11,000 people into Dublin North while maintaining both constituencies as four-seaters. That would have resulted in a variation of plus 8% in Dublin North and a corresponding variation of minus 8% in Dublin West, which is consistent with the variation permitted in Mayo East by the boundary commission in 1983, which provided for a variation of 7.89%.

Every public representative in Dublin North and Dublin West does not want Swords to be partitioned. There is probably an all-party consensus that both constituencies should be at the top and bottom end of over and under representation to facilitate the wishes of the people of Swords. However, I accept the reasons that cannot be done and the potential knock-on effects for other areas with a number of constituencies being opened up to changes that may not be supported on an all-party basis. However, if the report is adopted by the House and an election occurs in the meantime, the House should ask the boundary commission to immediately re-examine the boundaries and to produce an alternative set of proposals regardless of what may happen as a consequence of the 2011 census.

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