Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)

Ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a gabháil le Pártaí an Lucht Oibre as am a thabhairt dom chun labhairt.

Sinn Féin has consistently called on the Government to move the writ for the Dublin South by-election. Our representative in the constituency, Shaun Tracey, has consistently said the Government's current problems should not be an impediment to the democratic entitlements of the people of Dublin South. The people of that constituency have been under-represented for almost six months since the sad passing of Séamus Brennan. We in Sinn Féin agree time should be given to mourn the passing of a Member of the House before preparations begin on the process to replace that Member. However, we feel very strongly that the current unwritten arrangements, whereby the party to which the deceased member belonged has complete discretion in deciding when the by-election takes place, are wrong and definite parameters need to be set, taking into account the sensitivities surrounding a death. However, there should be an appropriate timeframe of three or four months.

The people of Dublin South are not without need for proper representation. Unemployment continues to increase in line with the national average, many new home owners are facing home repossessions and the provision of social housing is at crisis point in many parts of the constituency. Many issues that need to be addressed in that constituency are not being addressed adequately because the area is not fully represented as the people in the area are entitled to be under the Constitution. I support the motion.

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