James Bannon (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

They were in collusion with some senior bankers and executives and responsible for the illegal theft of taxpayers' money and the downfall of the economy which we are trying to fix. Every time Fianna Fáil took office in recent years, it dragged us down. I hope the people will be aware of this next year when the local and European elections are held. Fianna Fáil has had a history of centralising everything related to local government and services since 1977. Gone are the days when the Minister for the Environment used to take a pen to a map of the State to trace lovingly and gerrymander a new set of constituencies for the benefit of the party he or she represented. Nobody wants to go back to the Tullymander, although it did not benefit the then Deputy Tully or his party at the time. It was a period when artistic talent was given free rein. Like Oireachtas Members and local authority councillors, MEPs represent the voice of the people by whom they are elected to serve them and implement their will. Their aim is to keep the best interests of the community in mind in making cost-effective and environmentally sound decisions.

I welcome the reforms to local government of the Minister, Deputy Phil Hogan, in particular the way he intends to resource and provide it with more powers. He intends to abolish many of the quangos established by Fianna Fáil in government. He is bringing Leader boards within the control of the locally elected representatives who are best positioned to serve the interests of the people. I am relieved that citizens will no longer remain without legislative representation for uncontrolled periods of time. The Government now fills vacancies within six months, which eliminates the need for redress in the courts. It is interesting to note that six vacancies arose during the 30th Dáil, three of which were eventually filled through by-elections, while the outstanding ones remained vacant. These are issues which should be noted, not forgotten.

Transparency is the essence of democracy. It would be beneficial to hold a public meeting after the Constituency Commission issues its primary report to allow voters to contribute their views on the process. That might go some way towards resolving contentious issues. I welcome, in particular, the provision that a new constituency review will follow each election. This is very important. I was very pleased that the Constituency Commission had retained the status quo in my constituency of Longford-Westmeath which had been restored by a previous commission in response to submissions to rectify an unsustainable realignment.

This is an historical constituency in the midlands and remains a four-seater.

See this speech in context