Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome this report. I did not welcome the previous one and I was very vociferous in my objections to it. I was probably one of the few Deputies to have a right go at the Minister of State, Deputy Phelan's, former colleague, Commissioner Hogan, on Second Stage of the Bill before the House at that time. It was absolutely ludicrous, as my colleague, Deputy Marc MacSharry, said, that parts of west and south Cavan were moved into constituencies with Sligo, Leitrim and south Donegal. If I had to opt to stay in that constituency, rather than in the reduced Cavan-Monaghan constituency, and if I was going to that part of south Donegal that was put in with Cavan, I would travel into and out of Northern Ireland twice, back into the Republic, to get to Donegal. That shows how ludicrous it was, and it was a little like the tourism signs that say,"Welcome to Ireland's Ancient East", which are in Waterford as well as west Cavan.

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