John Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)

Knowing the former Deputy, Avril Doyle, I am sure she is well able to fight her own cause.

The Bill deals with the boundary commission, a reduction of funds for the OPresidential election, and holding by-elections within six months. I welcome the fact that in future by-elections will be held within six months of a vacancy arising. Previous Governments, including Fianna Fáil ones and others, have delayed by-elections as long as possible where they have not suited the political situation at the time. We have all been guilty of ensuring by-elections have not been held, thus not giving an opportunity for the electorate to elect a Deputy when a vacancy occurred. It is important that by-elections are held within a set timeframe. There are times, for example, if the six-month deadline was close to a general election, when it might make common sense not to hold the by-election, but other than that example I welcome the six-month limit.

The boundary commission's drafting of constituency boundaries has been a bugbear of mine for quite a long time. I have argued with previous Ministers with responsibility for the environment about this matter and we have had a number of them in the past 14 years. When the commission makes its recommendation or comes forward with a report, I understand the Minister of the day has the right to accept or reject it. Perhaps the Minister could clarify that point in his reply. Some of the decisions taken in the past by the commission were not good for constituency politics. In recent years, we had the farcical situation where Leitrim was divided down the middle and had no Deputy at one stage. That caused problems in the area and it also happened in other constituencies. We have parts of Carlow in Wicklow, while parts of Limerick went into Kerry. I am not sure it is the right way to go. I know it is difficult to draw up constituency boundaries that suit everyone but common sense should prevail. Will the Minister clarify whether he can reject the commission's proposals if he is unhappy with how the constituencies are divided up? He might come in for some political criticism if he tried to change things once an independent boundary commission has drafted them, but common sense must prevail.

To a certain extent, the Minister has tied the boundary commission's hands by saying that there must be three, four or five-seat constituencies. Have the Minister and his officials considered the possibility of having six or even seven-seat constituencies? Why is he confining it to three, four or five-seat constituencies? I understand there were six and seven-seat constituencies in previous times. The commission will face considerable difficulty in trying to avoid breaching county boundaries. It should be able to get around some of the problems by adopting guidelines that each constituency shall be composed of contiguous areas.

The make-up of the commission is also important. The Chief Justice, Mr. John Murray, will be asked by the Minister to nominate the chair of the commission. In line with past practise, the commission will be made up of the Clerk of the Dáil, the Clerk of the Seanad, the Ombudsman and the Secretary General of the Minister's Department. I wonder if the make-up of the boundary commission could be extended to include an ordinary citizen of the State. Why should membership of the commission be confined to the Clerk of the Dáil, Clerk of the Seanad, the Ombudsman, the Secretary General of the Minister's Department and a judge? I have no problem with a judge heading up the commission but the Minister should consider breaking with tradition and appointing an ordinary citizen of the State to the commission. I ask that the Minister consider this.

Census 2011, as published recently by the Minister, records that Ireland's population now stands at 4.5 million, an increase of approximately 400,000 when compared with census 2006. Census 2006 recorded Ireland's population at 4.2 million, the first time since 1871 our population rose above 4 million. Also, census 2011 records a population increase of 100,000 more people than predicted by the Central Statistics Office. It is stated in the programme for Government that the Government proposes, by way of Dáil reform, to reduce the number of Deputies in this House. I wonder if that is wise now given the approximately 400,000 increase in population. I may perhaps be one of a minority in this House but I do not agree with the proposal to reduce the number of Deputies. All 166 Members of this House during my time as a Member and down through the years have served the people well, regardless of their political affiliations. Despite the criticism Members get from time to time from the general public the people love their representatives. They certainly like to have them make representations in this House on their behalf.

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