Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

If the Bill before us goes through unamended or unchallenged, the negative effects will be long-lasting. The Electoral Act 1997 provides for the establishment of a commission to review constituencies. The recent commission, established in 2011, received a total of 533 submissions. I applaud the people who took the time and effort to make those submissions. The total of 533 is a huge increase on the 99 submissions received by the previous commission in 2004. It certainly puts paid to the perception that the public do not want to engage with, or participate in, our democratic institutions.

Even healthier is the fact that only 18% of the submissions were made by politicians and political groups. Interestingly, over 50% of the submissions related to Swords, so there is a very active citizenship there. These submissions were seeking to have Swords and its environs in one constituency.

The report upon which the Bill is based recommended an overall reduction from 166 to 158 seats, which represents a total reduction of eight seats for the next Dáil. This is despite the growth in population in this State. Census 2011 results show that the population of this State has continued to grow strongly since census 2006, increasing by 348,404 persons to 4,588,252. This represents an increase of 8.2% over the five-year period.

The commission claims that it was required to base its report on the population in census 2011, but the report fails to reflect this reality. It was the first time that a commission has had a predetermined outcome of reducing the number of TDs.

This Government was elected on a platform of reform, but if this Bill is adopted in its current form, it will clearly undermine the Government's credibility on this issue. To strengthen democracy we must ensure there is proper and full representation. Reducing the number of TDs only restricts representation and consolidates power around larger parties, further restricting minority views.

The main aims of the Bill are to reduce the number of TDs from 166 to 158, reduce the number of Dáil constituencies from 43 to 40, and redraw many of the general election constituencies. On paper it looks harmless enough and appears simply to move boundaries and reduce the number of TDs, but once one puts it into context and joins up the dots, one gets a different picture. On the one hand, the Minister is trumpeting local government reform, which we want and support. On the other hand, however, the Bill will cause confusion within local authorities and for elected public representatives, particularly Teachtaí Dála. There is no joined-up thinking between both processes.

Only last Friday, a commission was established to review local government boundaries and councillor numbers in preparation for local elections in 2014. We have seen the terms of reference. Before us now, however, is a Bill which will have some general election constituencies dealing with four different local authorities. In the case of Sligo-Leitrim, an elected TD will have to deal with four local authorities and four different county managers in Sligo, Leitrim, Cavan and Donegal.

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