Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour)

One could write about this matter to local authorities until the cows come home because, in the absence of legislation, there is no directive or direction. The Minister is correct when he states there is no legislative function. The amendment in question proposes to put a legislative function in place.

It is also about accuracy. If people walk into their franchise office or local post office they can look at their estate and see where their vote is in a local electoral area. Often boundaries in local electoral areas run down the middle of a road. An accurate map would help people find out who are their candidates and what local electoral area they are in. I would have no difficulty withdrawing the amendment if the Minister were to examine the issue as he did with the earlier Labour Party amendment. There is not much expectation to be drawn from writing to local authorities on the matter.

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