Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy breaking through on the air waves there should be more concerned about Roscrea and Templemore than Europe.

With regard to the electoral area boundaries, there is an opportunity with this Bill to consider the size of electoral areas, which will be huge in some parts of the country. Cognisance needs to be taken of the size of areas councillors are expected to cover. My constituency of Limerick has grown and is probably one of the largest geographically in the country. Deputies in rural areas are under a lot of pressure in terms of the obligations on them to cover the constituency and offer a service. Deputies on all sides will appreciate this. Our councillors are also under intense pressure and they operate in a situation where the supports and resources available to them are limited. Therefore, I urge the Minister, when developing the boundaries for electoral areas to take on board the need to include a multiplier for geographical areas.

I welcome the fact the constituency of Limerick has been reformed to a proper structure committed to the boundary of the county. Deputy Olivia Mitchell raised the issue of the names of constituencies, in reference to Dublin South. There may be an issue in that regard with regard to the Limerick constituencies also, in terms of the county and the city, where a sizeable amount of a rural area has now become part of what is termed a city constituency. By and large the Government commitment in the programme for Government to reduce the size of the Dáil, to abolish the Seanad and to reduce the number of elected officials across the country must be welcomed.

However, it cannot all be about costs. It must also be about efficiency, but in a country that is in the financial situation in which we find ourselves costs must be a significant part of it. The savings the Minister proposes to make over the lifetime of the Dáil must be welcomed. How we account for and audit the expenditure of allowances in this House must also be examined, not just the expenditure of those in political parties but of those outside the political party structure.

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