Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Bill. I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, for being present. While we deal with important and significant legislation in the House every week, the Bill is prominent legislation that provides for the very nature of our work in these Houses and for the democracy to which most of us are committed. I pay particular tribute to the Electoral Commission for its work in preparing its constituency review report, which has informed not only the creation of the Bill but plenty of political discussion since the end of August when it was published. I also thank the team in the Department for their work in preparing the Bill.

Our population is growing at a significant rate and, thus far, not showing very much sign of slowing down. We must have a democratic parliament that reflects these changes and the needs of people that are linked to these changes. The addition of 14 new Deputies after the next general election will provide for better public representation in Dáil Éireann. It is an important and necessary step in ensuring the public's voice is heard here and throughout the country. We are all aware of the clear constitutional requirements that underpin these changes and require us to act on the data that emerge from the census in a timely manner. As a result, we will see three new constituencies created and changes to a significant number of constituency boundaries, including those of my constituency Dublin Fingal.

Dublin Fingal will change for the second time in my almost 13 years in the House. The constituency will be split in two to create Dublin Fingal East and Dublin Fingal West. I want to highlight an issue that could be easily corrected in the process of these debates. It is something with regard to the naming of constituencies. The naming of Dublin Fingal West does not best represent the communities it includes. I am specifically thinking of the inclusion together of areas such as Balbriggan and Santry. They are in the south and north-east of the constituency. The constituency should be called something more neutral and I will make the suggestion of "Fingal north-central" or "Fingal central". I contend this would be more in keeping with the sweeping nature of the area. I am sure the Minister of State, Deputy O'Brien, will have a word with the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, on this. It would more accurately incorporate the geographic reality of the communities taken in by the constituency. This change, while seemingly small, would allow for future changes to take place. As Deputy Murphy mentioned, should future growth exclude parts of Dublin City Council's jurisdiction in the constituency of Dublin West, this would allow for a suitable name to be available for a new Dáil constituency of "Fingal west", which would be an easy transition for the people in Dublin West.

By suggesting the name "Fingal central" or "Fingal north-central" I have dropped the reference to Dublin. I have done so on the basis that I do not think it is necessary. Fingal is an administrative county that has existed since 1994. I do not believe anybody is under the illusion that Fingal is anywhere other than north County Dublin. There are places on the south side of Dublin where I am sure we could include "South Dublin" or "Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown" along with the constituency name if we were following a trend.

We are not. It is unique and I think we should stop it. I intend to introduce an amendment to this end. I look forward to engaging with the Minister of State, the Minister and other colleagues, including in the context of feedback from the Minister, which would be very much appreciated.

I am clearly content, I should point out, with the constituency of Dublin Fingal East, which I hope to represent in the Thirty-first Dáil, because I believe it is an accurate and acceptable name as to its geography. I believe the commission's reports and the legislation we pass in this House concerning our electoral system should always seek to future-proof our systems and infrastructure. Our next national census will happen in 2027. By that time, I suspect we will again see significant increases in population, especially in Fingal and Dublin more generally. I remind the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, that Fingal has been one of the fastest-growing and youngest constituencies in Europe, never mind in Ireland, for the last four censuses in a row. It stands to reason, therefore, that we will see further growth. While this will be a matter for the Government of the day, I believe we must be cognisant of actions that we take today and what impact they will have on the process.

I believe the public and our political system is best served when space for growth is built into our future planning, and widespread or wide-scale change is not required following the publication of each census. We have seen many times how changes to communities, including placement in a different constituency or changes in the names of constituencies, can be a source of local concern. Deputy Catherine Murphy covered the area I was going to touch upon when she spoke about what happened in 2007 or 2008 when River Valley and surrounding communities were dumped out of Dublin North into Dublin West, only to be changed back in 2012. Splitting a community in this way results in lower turnout. I invite the Minister of State to look at the tallies, which clearly show a lower turnout in those parts of Dublin West, as it was at the time.

I wish to touch quickly on a few other points. The first is the issue of headroom. The Electoral Commission, unlike previous boundary commissions, is a permanent body. This means it has a permanent impact. The individuals who make the decisions will have time to reflect on the impacts of the changes they propose in their reports. This will be unlike previous boundary commissions, which were established and issued reports, and were then disestablished and never had to worry about decisions made again. Members and would-be Members of the Dáil were left to worry about the repercussions in the context of the River Valleys and the Tallaghts of Ireland.

I had hoped that the Electoral Commission would give more consideration to a more expansive enlargement of the Dáil, for the express purpose of not having to make big changes in future. I think the average set out by the commission, in the context of the constitutional requirement, is too shallow and this will mean we will see another change in this regard within a few years. I regret this, but I mention it nonetheless.

Finally, I want to throw my oar in with regard to posters. I do not favour any change to posters and postering. I say this not for me, because I am well established, having been in politics for 20 years. There are Members here with 30 and 40 years of experience. They do not need posters, and we all know this. Those who are not incumbents absolutely need posters. Where I would like to see a change in postering is not in regard to having a geographic spot where all the posters would go, because I think that would be an eyesore and a mess, but in limiting the number of posters per election. Some consideration should be given to larger wards in constituencies but a limit should be put in place. I have also trialled various biodegradable cardboard posters, as I am sure the Minister of State has.

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