Cyprian Brady (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

The purpose of the Bill is to implement the recommendations of the Constituency Commission with regard to Dáil and European Parliament constituencies and to revise the procedures to be followed by future constituency commissions. It also revises procedures for the nomination of non-party candidates in European and local elections, which worked well in the most recent general election. The balance struck in the legislation is fair and equitable and will ensure that those who express an interest in running as Independent candidates in local and European elections will have the opportunity to do so. The deposits involved are not prohibitive and applicants will have some choice as to the centre in which they stand. This gives an opportunity to people interested in representing constituencies to put their names forward.

Many Members have mentioned the effect boundary changes have in their constituencies. The current situation is that the 166 Deputies in the Dáil each represent approximately 25,541 people, well within the proposed guidelines. According to the Constitution, there should be no less than one Deputy per 30,000 of the population and any future commission will have to take into account changes that have taken place.

The demographics of our population have changed immensely in a short time. In the past ten years there has been significant change in the demographics, particularly on the north side of the city. These older areas, like developing areas, continue to develop and need investment in education and other areas. Older and more settled areas continue to develop, particularly with the increase in the number of apartment complexes and small in-fill estates. People often refer to one-off housing as a rural issue, but it is now common in urban areas. The trend over recent years has been for one-off housing to be built adjacent to existing houses, particularly in local authority areas where there has been an upsurge in the gardens of existing houses. This has contributed to the change in population trends in these areas. I have seen the effect apartment developments have had on old, settled areas and these are now young, vibrant and busy areas. Population in such areas have increased and this has led to increased availability of services such as shops, restaurants and pubs.

The reduction of the number of European Parliament seats in the Dublin constituency by one must be revisited as a result of the changes in population, particularly in the city. I understand there are developing areas outside the city boundaries, but the continuing rate of growth of the population of the city must be taken into consideration. The diminution of representation at European level must be given further attention.

Since its initiation in 1979, the Constituency Commission has had an advisory role and it is established practice that its recommendations are accepted. There is scope for change here. Individual Deputies have explained the effects boundary changes have on how they represent the people in their areas and how those people react to the changes. I had experience of this prior to 1997 when the most natural boundary in the country, the River Liffey, was breached and my constituency took in part of the south side of the city, Ballyfermot and Cherry Orchard, areas with no relationship with Cabra and Glasnevin. Although we are all Dubs, I believe Dublin is made up of a series of small villages. I see this in my constituency and have noticed that people are proud of their community. They are involved in their local parish or community and take pride in that. When a change such as the one mentioned occurs, it is difficult for a public representative to explain that because a person is on one side of the road, he or she must be referred to another Deputy or councillor. This causes confusion.

To further add to the confusion, sometimes successive commissions decide change is needed and areas that were changed by a previous commission are reviewed and a further change takes place. This means representatives must explain to people they are moved again. This can interfere with the ability of people to vote. It creates a fragile situation and hampers their privilege to cast their vote for particular individuals or parties.

The serious and important issues dealt with in the Bill are sacrosanct to the way we implement democracy. There are proposals in the Bill relating to how the commission does its business and it can now use the preliminary report of a census, rather than wait for the detailed results of the final census report. That provision will make it easier and quicker for sitting and potential representatives to assimilate changes. In my area the commission made no changes to our boundaries in the case of local elections nor does it make any change to the boundaries of Dublin Central. Therefore, it makes no impact on my area.

I listened however to a different story from representatives from Leitrim, Meath, Kerry and Limerick and these stories help us understand the problems of local representatives in those areas. I listened to Deputy Johnny Brady last night. He gave 34 years in an area serving the needs of the people there, but has to explain to them that he will no longer represent them, but now represents people just a few fields away as the result of the change in the boundary. It is very difficult to explain this to people.

I welcome the changes with regard to Independent candidates putting their names forward. Those changes will make a difference. We want to avoid the situation that exists in the UK, where comical candidates put their names forward. These candidates have absolutely no representation but because of the system, they manage to put their names forward for whatever crazy party name they invent. We have to protect ourselves from that because this is a relatively small democracy.

Any change we make to our electoral system must be treated with respect and dignity. We are a modern, vibrant and economically progressive country and we now have many new communities joining our society. Our population is increasing year on year. We have to protect what has gone before and this Bill will help. Other issues, such as the register of electors, can be addressed but I welcome the Bill and wish it speedy progress.

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