Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party)

Like other speakers, I welcome certain aspects of this Bill. Section 2, which requires the calling of a by-election within six months, is a dramatic improvement, but I concur with those who asked why the period cannot be shortened to four months. I am not sure where the point comes from, but it is obviously a step in the right direction. The lowering of expenditure in Presidential elections - what can be spent and recouped - is also welcome, but, again, it is not enough. I will be tabling amendments in this regard. There will be three constituencies for European elections and the reimbursement figure is €38,000 per constituency, which gives a figure of €114,000 to be recouped. Why are we allowing a figure of €200,000 for Presidential elections, even if that is a step in the right direction?

The main problem with the Bill is in section 3 and the Government's stunt in reducing the number of Deputies and revising the terms of reference for the constitutional commission. This is nothing more than a gimmick dressed up as reform. The point has been made that the parties opposite in fighting the general election stated they would reduce the number of Deputies by 20, but now they shrug their shoulders and tell us that they can only reduce the number by 16 and that even that is in breach of the Constitution. There were methods for changing the Constitution if it was a serious proposal, but, of course, it was no such thing. It was just an illusion that Fine Gael and the Labour Party were trying to clean up the political system, whereas the reality is that this proposal will make the system less accountable and democratic.

It is very easy for us to pick figures arbitrarily from other countries or use European averages to justify the argument that in Ireland we are over-represented. However, we are not comparing like with like, especially given the way in which the population in Ireland is dispersed along the east coast, particularly around Dublin. We have a very different system of governance. This is one of the few countries without regional authorities to engage in serious decision-making. Let us be honest about it; we do not have real local government either. This Chamber has stripped these bodies of their decision-making powers. If the Government was really serious about reform, it would be starting from the bottom up and ensuring involvement in decision-making at local level. Instead, what we have is a stunt.

It is not the number of Deputies that annoys people but the fact that people often do not know who they are or what they do. What really galls them is the amount of money Deputies are paid. We are told this is about money, but that is nonsense. If the Government was to remove 16 Deputies, the salary saving would be around €1.5 million a year. If it was to reduce the salaries of 166 Deputies to the average industrial wage which would make Members appreciate the living conditions of ordinary people, it would save €9 million a year. This does not include the allowances parties receive, the staff they receive and so on. The Government could make radical savings of tens of millions of euro every year if this was all about money, but, of course, it is not. It is an attack on democracy and is undermining the democratic process. We know the real outcome of a reduction in the number of Deputies would statistically hurt the small parties and Independents more than the bigger parties which have larger resources and the bigger machines. Having larger constituencies tends to benefit smaller parties more.

The carving up of constituencies by the boundary commission was one of the biggest insults to democracy in Ireland. Members have spoken about counties being carved up. I come from Swords, the so-called capital of the county of Fingal, which was partitioned in the last electoral boundary review. Such an affront to democracy must be corrected this time. Towns cannot be partitioned and included in diverse geographical areas. This is unsustainable and must be taken into account in the electoral boundary review in order to overcome the democratic deficit, the outcome of the last review.

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