Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)

If there were 152 Deputies in the Dáil, there would be one Deputies per 30,140 people. The Constitution states the figure cannot be more than 30,000. If the population keeps growing, it is inevitable that there will have to be a referendum to change the provision, as the Constitution is clearly restrictive.

People get annoyed when they hear about proposed changes such as the abolition of the Seanad or a reduction in the number of Deputies by 20, when those proposing the changes do not even look at the Constitution. Almost every second page of the Constitution contains a provision about the Seanad; therefore, changes are going to require a referendum.

There is no mention of political parties in the Constitution, yet the Standing Orders of the House and electoral funding provisions are to the benefit of parties, as opposed to Independent Members. There has been much talk in recent weeks about the leader's allowance paid to Independent Members. I have no difficulty in being held to account for my expenditure, as all public moneys should be accounted for. However, astronomical figures are transferred from the State to run political parties. If we are to have genuine political reform, we must go much further than this Bill goes, which is what people want. We must sketch out a vision. We must put in place local government rather than the local administration we have because people want to have some control over their lives and that is the place to start.

See this speech in context