Dinny McGinley (Donegal South West, Fine Gael)

As one of the two remaining Deputies representing Donegal South-West, I have no difficulty supporting the motion. I am sure my party will also support it.

I agree that there is a democratic deficit in Donegal. It has been almost a year since Pat The Cope Gallagher, MEP, was elected to the European Parliament. In terms of area, Donegal South-West is one of the largest three-seat constituencies in this country. It stretches from Creeslough in the north to Bundoran in the south, a distance of 105 miles by road. The constituency runs along the Atlantic coast through Cloghaneely, Gweedore and The Rosses and stretches east to the borders of counties Fermanagh, Tyrone and Derry. It also includes half a dozen inhabited islands, namely, Tory Island, Arainn Mhór, Gola Island, Inishbofin, Rutland Island and Owey Island.

As already stated, this large constituency is now represented by two remaining Deputies, namely, the Tánaiste and me. The Tánaiste is an extremely busy lady and is obliged to fulfil her governmental responsibilities throughout the country. This means that I am obliged to spend a great deal of time catering for the needs of the people of Donegal South-West. I enjoy every minute of this work and I like meeting the people who live in the area. Last weekend I travelled around the constituency a total of three times. I will repeat that exercise next weekend and the following weekend.

As Deputy Ó Caoláin stated, Donegal has suffered greatly in recent years. He also referred to comments made by Pat The Cope Gallagher, MEP, in 1986 when Fianna Fáil moved the writ for a by-election in Donegal South-West. At that time, Pat The Cope Gallagher, MEP, painted a dismal picture of the state of Donegal's economy and indicated that 12,500 people were unemployed. Today, some 23,000 people in the country are unemployed. That is enough said. I will not embarrass the Minister of State, Deputy Curran, by repeating anything else that was said in 1986.

Donegal has suffered a great deal. Its industrial base has been decimated and its traditional indigenous industries - fishing, agriculture and tourism - are in crisis.

The Tánaiste and I represent almost 70,000 people in Donegal South-West. The constitutional guidelines stated that individual Deputies should represent only between 20,000 and 30,000 constituents. We are, therefore, in contravention of the guidelines to which I refer. As a result, I am of the view that the current position is open to challenge in the courts.

We should not be seeking a by-election for Donegal South-West, we should be seeking a general election.

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