Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

A lot of things happened during that time. The matter actually went the other way.

We look forward to proposing an amendment in regard to that constituency on Committee Stage, to the effect that this substantial number of Mayo people be recognised in the new constituency, which should be renamed Galway West-South Mayo to reflect the large input of Mayo people. I have no doubt that Deputy Ó Cuív will look after them well, along with whoever may join him from the other side.

There is great concern throughout the country about the manner in which communities can be discommoded in this way. It is similar to the process currently under way, albeit with open consultations, whereby parishes can be divided for representation at council level. There is concern that there is no appeals process. In previous times the boundary review process was used for party political advantage, but surely we have moved on and can come up with a system that makes proposals on the make-up of constituencies but allows some kind of input concerning the proposals made. It is all very well making a submission in advance but many people do not fully understand the intricacies of the process or the way in which the frames of reference can be interpreted by the commission. A draft report should be published, following which communities should be allowed to facilitate input into it. There is no doubt about the anger in south Mayo concerning the way in which it is being attached to Galway, and this anger is replicated in communities throughout the country that are being moved around. It is the same in cities. People vote in different constituencies in different elections depending on the way population centres move. It is difficult for colleagues or for anybody who seeks elected office to develop a working relationship with communities or prioritise working with communities when that happens.

With its proposed reduction of eight seats, the Bill demonstrates the folly of many of the pre-election promises made by the Government. The Minister, Deputy Hogan, intended to reduce the number by 20 but I understand the Labour Party got to him and kept the number to eight. That will increase again to 166 after the next election. Let us stand back and consider this. Perhaps we have lost the opportunity to have a full debate. Is having 42 or 43 constituencies the best way to go now? Should we start mixing it up a bit - mixing the electoral constituency system with a list system? Perhaps we should proceed by availing of the constitutional convention in advance of making any decisions.

The Government has mentioned having a debate on Seanad reform or abolition. It should be on Seanad reform. Equally, we need to consider the way in which we do business in this House. While I accept there have been some minimal changes in the way business is done, we must push the bar out further and be much more ambitious about the way in which we do business. We must resource our committees. I commend Deputy Jerry Buttimer and his colleagues on the health committee on the way in which they managed last week's committee hearings. If every committee was resourced and given powers to that effect we would get through our work as a Parliament much more quickly and in a much more challenging way for those who attend. It would require a considerable resource commitment for us to do that, but if we are serious about our work and want to make it more relevant we should consider this and invest in it. The committee system can work well. There is much good work that happens, literally, in the bowel of LH2000, but it rarely gets attention unless there is a star witness. That is where the real work of this Parliament is done. Committee Stage of legislation can be beneficial for everybody. We must look at our own internal resources, work with the public relations unit of the Oireachtas, see the way in which it highlights committee work and come up with a way of improving the work.

Everybody says there are too many politicians in this country, but people here like to have a relationship with their local representatives. They like to be able to reach out and have access to that person. Public representatives are generally much more available here than in many other countries. We do not have the system that pertains in the United Kingdom whereby politicians may spend a few weekends in their constituencies and the rest of the time in London. If we lose that link it will undermine our work and whatever bit of solace we have left in this House. That is why we need to engage to a much greater degree with communities in setting boundaries and respecting how deeply they are attached to those boundaries. It is not a question of sitting around a table moving around lines on a map. One is dealing, first, with people's right to representation and, second, with people's livelihoods. Many people have left this House not for want of work but because of boundary changes that reduced their ability to be re-elected. People must consider those things as well.

It is all very well for a boundary review group to publish its work, but the manner in which we have completely removed ourselves from interpreting that work needs to change. There must be some kind of appeals mechanism for communities that feel discommoded. I reiterate that we can design such a mechanism, which must not be politically controlled. That is within our ability.

My party will table an amendment on Committee Stage in regard to the invasion of Mayo by Galway. I know the county is short of a few footballers but it will not get away with it that easily. We will propose the renaming of the constituency to Galway West-South Mayo to reflect the fact that more than 10,000 Mayo people will be voting in that constituency in the next election. They deserve to be formally recognised in that way.

I cannot imagine that the Minister, Deputy Hogan, would be too impressed at being moved into Waterford or Wexford, as Deputy Browne informs me.

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