Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Ceann Comhairle has given me enough latitude. I have been allowed to make the points I wanted and they are on the record.

This Bill should be part of a wider suite of proposals which constitute real political reform, such as a new electoral system and revamped Cabinet membership and enhanced scrutiny by this House, while still seeking to retain the link between TDs and the communities and constituencies they serve but at the same time seeking to ensure there are more national considerations represented in the Oireachtas. There is no effort to improve the Dáil's oversight of all aspects of the public sector. The principles of legislation are not debated in advance of drafting. The time allowed for Private Members' business has not been extended. Legislation submitted to the Dáil is not subject to independent fiscal analysis in advance of debates. There are no proposals forthcoming or mooted on a revised budgetary process on which we heard much debate. There is no establishment of a legal service to the Oireachtas. While I accept the premise of the constitutionality of this Bill by virtue of changes in population and the responsibility on the Minister, having been advised of the census, to put a commission in place to address changes in population, and there is a long-standing precedent in the House that any proposals emanating from that process are not necessarily objected to and the good faith and independence of that commission has been respected, it is essential to note that the Minister, having promised to reduce the numbers by 20 and then, on entering Government, stating that the Government was hamstrung by virtue of the Constitution and the independent commission could only reduce it by eight, made those commitments as part of a suite of proposals which the Government stated would amount to major political reform. No doubt there is an appetite for such reform, and I empathise with it. I would allow the Minister the benefit of the remaining years, however long that might be, in government to address these issues of political reform in a real way and, in doing so, to honour the commitment the Government gave to the electorate. Given what I stated about the context of the last election from an economic perspective, no doubt the error of the Government's ways in that regard have been seen in recent months.

For example, they have been seen in the context of our national debt and its sustainability. They are also being seen by virtue of the mechanism by which negotiations are taking place with Europe on that national debt.

We have yet to accrue the benefit we were to the euro currency by virtue of the measures taken by this country at that time. Our people continue to be levied with that burden. In parallel with that there has been no growth in our economy to compensate for that fact, which only compounds the issue. Only recently have we seen what we hope is a change of tack in that regard for the Minister to achieve results that he was bound to do on behalf of the people.

The change is becoming imminent on that policy strand vis-à-vis the Minister's commitment to the electorate before the election. There still remains ample time for the Minister and the Government parties to revert to the commitments they gave in a wider context, including a suite of measures that constitutes political reform. I have seen nothing in all the aforementioned areas that would constitute major political reform that anybody could empathise with, either within or outside this House.

The public were susceptible to that and were in the mood for change. They were exasperated at the failure of the systems in place to address issues which caused difficulties for our State. That was compounded by difficulties outside the State. Notwithstanding this Bill, I implore the Minister to exercise his responsibility in that regard and honour his party's and the Government's commitment to bring about real reform before this Dáil signs off, whenever that may be.

As regards the specifics of the Bill, I welcome the efforts to retain county boundaries where possible. That is sacrosanct for any member of society and the Minister knows that better than most. I welcome the fact the Constituency Commission was not afraid to address problems which arose subsequent to the constituency boundaries devised by the previous commission. To that effect, I welcome back the sector of my county that was lost to Tipperary. I empathise and sympathise with those who have come in to us. I understand how they feel not only about crossing a county boundary but also a provincial boundary. It is not easy. While people might always have been great neighbours, they never flew each other's flags too high when it came to hurling. That is neither here nor there, however.

I recognise that the commission was not swayed in any way by submissions, but it took cognisance of many of them. In so far as it could, it used the direction contained within the Constitution to arrive at a consensus. I doubt very much if, at the next stage, we will have any recommendations or amendments. However, I do want to place on the public record my disappointment, and that of my party, that the Government has not lived up to its commitment to the electorate to engage in radical reform of the democratic electoral system and institutions of the State, including this House and the Upper House.

I acknowledge the Minister's efforts in putting forward the People First document and, although I have misgivings about it, they are for another day. When that legislation is brought before the House, we will discuss it in more detail. In its own right, it was an effort to address the very issues on which the Minister gave commitments in the most recent general election. I reiterate my disappointment that the Minister has not addressed political reform as he could have by virtue of a suite of measures. If this is one of them, it is a very poor attempt at it.

See this speech in context