Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Names were changed in the Dublin area and there was the case I just mentioned in Louth. I presume it is the commission itself but on what basis? Is it arbitrary? Why does it decide to change names or have particular names for particular constituencies? It is something on which public representatives possibly should have some role because we know our constituencies and people do get upset when their constituency name changes.

My next remarks are somewhat similar to those raised by others. My constituency is losing a part of Clare which we had, gaining a piece of Tipperary and we are giving back to County Limerick part of east Limerick which we have had and it had before us. It is a case of "I stepped out and I stepped in again". I particularly feel for people in those types of constituencies who might have moved three or four times in the last 20 years, or a relatively short time. The Cappamore area and its neighbouring parishes in county Limerick is the area particularly affected in my constituency. I have represented them in the past, then not represented them, then represented them and then not represented them, and I have not been in this House for an especially long time. It is particularly difficult for people in those areas whose constituency keeps moving because they are they easiest to move when numbers change.

I also support the idea of there being fewer three-seat constituencies. It is better to have a broader type of representation in order that most people can see somebody in the Oireachtas who represents their point of view. It is right that we have larger constituencies with more individuals representing them.

Like others, I was very pleased to represent a piece of County Clare. Part of it is in the parish where I live; it is literally the other side of the bridge over the River Shannon from my home, and I will continue to represent those people until there is an election. I know many of them very well. I will continue to hold my constituency clinic in the area. There are areas such as Shannon Banks, Westbury, Parteen and part of Ardnacrusha, which are very close to Limerick city. I appreciate that Clare has got itself back together as a county and I can understand why this is happening.

Deputy Stanley just referred to the northern part of Tipperary coming back into Tipperary but the piece nearest to us is coming into Limerick which would be the Newport-Birdhill area. I would be very happy to represent the people in that area and give a continuity of service that had previously been given by Labour Deputies, the most recent one being Deputy Kelly. There is some dissatisfaction that people who have always been represented in a Tipperary constituency are now coming into the Limerick city constituency but we will do our best to represent them.

Ideally we would like to see county boundaries unbreached but we are bound by the Constitution, as is the commission. We have to accept that it has to do its best in drawing boundaries. I am more concerned for the people in those areas than their public representatives. We will get on with doing our job as best we can, but there is confusion for people living in areas who find themselves moved from one constituency to another. To return to the national planning framework, what we would like to see is that there would be an effort to stabilise populations and not have migration from the more rural, western parts of the country to the east coast. During discussions on the national planning framework, it emerged that Maynooth is the centre of Ireland by population, because there are roughly as many people living east of Maynooth as there are to its west, although in geographical terms it is nowhere near the centre of Ireland. It is an indication that we need to see national planning work towards a more balanced country which would be better for everyone. We will not oppose this.

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