Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his contribution. I take on board that he said to the effect that the long-established practice is for the Bill to be welcomed and accepted without amendment. That is not my style but I will not go against it. We will be supporting the Bill but it would be remiss of me not to speak on it. In a similar manner to Deputy Eugene Murphy or any of my colleagues who may speak on the Bill, I believe it lacks imagination. I made a submission on the Bill because I wanted to offer a little guidance on how not to butcher a county, which is what is being done to Galway. I represent Galway East and, under the Bill, will lose over 8,500 very good voters who substantially contributed to my being elected as a first-time Deputy. I am eternally grateful to them. With the help of God, Deputy Eugene Murphy will benefit from my hard work for them over the past 18 months, as I hope I will benefit from the work done by Deputy Ó Cuív for the 4,500 voters who are being transferred from Galway West.

On a serious note, I completely agree with what Deputy Eugene Murphy said regarding how the system should be amended such that counties can be kept intact. If I were to have sent out the Galway hurling team in the same manner as the electoral team is being sent out here, it would not have won the All-Ireland this year because it would have been representing counties Roscommon, Galway and Mayo.

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