Michael Noonan (Limerick East, Fine Gael)

My party supports the Bill but I do not welcome it because it is based on a flawed commission report which was carelessly drafted. In future reports the relevant commission should be asked to justify the decisions it makes and not be allowed to hand them down as diktats. The logic of some of the decisions in the report is hard to understand. It is inequitable and flawed. The report is careless but the commission arrived at its conclusion and knows that the practice in the Dáil is to accept what the commission decides. If there are other reports like this, that practice itself could break down.

Over the years commissions have adopted two different approaches to constituency changes. One approach involves small changes with knock-on effects for every constituency in the country but which do not discommode many people. The other approach is where one boundary goes free and this report is in that category, being based on two large initiatives with everything else built around them. The two large initiatives were to suppress one seat in Dún Laoghaire and one seat in County Limerick, giving two additional seats which could be applied to the new population areas in west and north Dublin.

I accept the approach because it has been adopted before but I wish to examine the situation vis-À-vis Kerry and Limerick, which affects me personally. County Limerick is losing a seat. We had eight seats, one five-seater and one three-seater, but we will now have a four-seat city and a three-seat county, whereas Kerry is holding onto its six seats. If the plan was to change the boundaries between Limerick and Kerry, I would question its logic. The changes are being made by people who must be totally unfamiliar with both counties and they have discommoded many people. Many ordinary voters and political activists are extremely unhappy that a whole tranche of the county, from Abbeyfeale down to the Shannon estuary at Glin, is being transferred to Kerry. They are extremely unhappy that a tranche of the Castleconnell electoral area of east Limerick is going into what used to be Limerick West and will now be Limerick County.

Obviously, when populations change constituencies have to change and the report of the commission provides statistics in that connection. In 2006, Kerry North had 23,148 persons per Dáil Deputy and Kerry South had 23,464. Limerick East had 23,647 and Limerick West had 23,733 so Kerry was further from qualifying for six seats than Limerick was from qualifying for eight. One of the major bases for the change made by the commission was the record of current Dáil constituencies ranked by percentage variance from the national average for population per Deputy, given in table one. Limerick West stood at -7.08 relative to the average and Limerick East at -7.42, whereas Kerry South stood at -8.13 while Kerry North was at -9.37. This would favour a transfer of population from Kerry to Limerick rather than vice versa, yet the commission flew in the face of its own evidence and recommended the opposite.

The justification for constituency change is the principle that the weight of representation should follow the weight of population but the opposite has been done in this case. Why? The commission must have had other reasons. Was the position of the Ceann Comhairle taken into account? Was there an informal conversation in which it was said that if Kerry was made a one-county five-seater it would effectively be a four-seat constituency, because the Ceann Comhairle would be elected automatically? If that was a consideration, where in the Constitution or the terms of reference of the commission is it stated that the position of the Ceann Comhairle's automatic re-election is to be taken into account?

When the three ladies and one gentleman of the commission decided this, they were quite aware of the political consequences, as anyone would be. Limerick loses a seat and anyone looking at the statistics over the years would assume that the seat being lost when Limerick City went from five seats to four had to be an Opposition seat. One does not need to be a genius with numbers or to be of a speculative disposition. Many would assume it had to be a Fine Gael seat but, even if one was to take a wider interpretation, it has to be an Opposition seat. In Kerry, the seat being saved as the county retains its six seats has to be a Government seat, and probably a Fianna Fáil seat.

Not only did the commission fly in the face of the evidence of the population statistics that it produced itself, its members did so knowing there were foreseeable political consequences which would favour the Government. That is not fair play. I would accept this report, as I have all the revisions which have marginally affected my constituency. I would argue that this is the way the system works and we have all decided it is the fairest way to do it. It would be biased if it came from a Minister but with a commission it would all be fair and above board. However, I cannot see how a commission which examined its own statistics could recommend the county in the weaker position keeping its six seats while the county in the stronger position was deprived of a seat. Given the fact that the commission has not sought to justify or explain the decision in any way, we must draw our own conclusions. In future, I would like the commission to provided an explanation of its decision.

I will move on to discuss the part of the Limerick constituency which is in County Clare. When one crosses the Corbally bridge one comes to housing estates such as Shannon Banks and Westbury, which are part of Limerick City but administratively are in County Clare and run by Clare County Council. Villages from Parteen to Ardnacrusha, where the Shannon power scheme is located — many Members not familiar with other landmarks in Limerick will be aware of it — will become part of the constituency of Limerick city. Those living in the suburban estates are essentially Limerick city people. The people living further out in the villages of Parteen and Ardnacrusha are Clare people. This brings with it all the tensions experienced in any border area. These people are in a peculiar situation which it is hoped a future commission will examine.

In general elections those people voted for candidates from Limerick East and in future they will be in the constituency of Limerick city. For the purpose of local elections they are included in the Killaloe electoral district of Clare and vote for Clare councillors who take up office in Ennis with Clare County Council. For the purpose of the European elections these people are included in the County Clare district. The euro constituencies are made up not of Dáil constituencies but of counties. While these people reside in County Clare the MEPs for whom they can vote may represent areas as far away as Donegal. That is the extremely anomalous position in which these 3,500 people will find themselves.

I hope that the Minister of State, when replying, will provide us with more detail of future arrangements for commissions. I understand that Mr. Frank Clarke's judgment provides that a future commission may work on the provisional figures of the next census rather than the final figures. I understand from the Minister's preliminary remarks on Second Stage that the commission's report may be finalised only when the full figures are released. There will be some time gained but not much.

I would like the Minister to match this to the electoral cycle. Perhaps he will also answer the following question: will there be time before the next election, provided the Dáil runs its full term, to have another revision of the constituencies? Is it the case, as many of us believe, that because a report on provisional figures cannot be finalised, the date for the report of the commission, three months after final figures are available, will be after the last possible date of the next general election? There is an expectation that this is a temporary arrangement and that the position will be changed again, but I do not believe that. I would like the Minister to let us know in exact terms the timeframe and how it matches with his plans.

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