Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

You could of course. Anyway, I wish you well. I just said that in jest.

The terms of reference for the commission set out in the 2022 Act stated each constituency should have three, four or five members. This has been the range of constituency sizes permitted by law in Ireland since 1947. Thankfully, I am old enough to remember the gerrymandering of the late Mr. Tully. We called it Tullymandering back in the heady days of that awful coalition Government from 1973 to 1977, the heavy gang of Fine Gael and the Labour Party. It included Mr. Tully, Conor Cruise O'Brien and company, and people like them. Anyway, this report seems to be an objective enough affair. Regarding Tiobraid Árann, it was made a five-seater constituency two elections ago, but it is now going back to two three-seater constituencies.

I thank the people of north Tipperary, whom I am a long way away from, for the way they have accepted, supported, listened and put up with me. I did my best. Rinne mé mo dhícheall on many issues. We are now back to having a constituency of Tipperary South. The county should really never have been amalgamated at county council level either. The British, in their wisdom, divided Tiobraid Árann long long ago because they could not control us. They divided us to make smaller and handier areas. We are good-spirited and high-spirited people. We maintain a good stance on issues and look after our people.

I made a submission to the Electoral Commission regarding part of west Waterford which is in the town of Clonmel. It is part of the town. The children are christened, go to school and play there. Their families work, attend meetings and socialise there. They are part of the town, trasna na habhann, across the River Suir. It is a pity. I will say this here in the House. These people come regularly into my office, although certainly not all of them. At least 25% of my work concerns daoine as Port Láirge agus tá fáilte mhór rompu. These people do not have representation in the county they vote in because most of the Members representing the constituency are 25 or 30 miles away from them. That is those Members' business, but these people are a part of Clonmel. I thought the commission might have done something for them. These people wanted to come back and were hoping to be back because, as I said, they do everything else in County Tipperary and the town of Clonmel, the famed town of Cluain Meala. This did not happen, and this is the way it has come down. I do not think we will be submitting any amendments in respect of this situation. My colleagues may have some.

We need to enact this legislation and give people certainty. It is always enacted very soon after a commission like this produces a report. I thank the members of the Electoral Commission. It included a good friend and former colleague, John Curran, a former Deputy and Aire Stáit. The members of the commission have a hard job to do.

One silly thing was done in County Tipperary. If a bit of west Waterford had been taken into County Tipperary, we would have had the numbers. Instead, the commission made a foray across the border into Leinster, into Contae Chill Chainnigh. In hurling parlance, we often make forays there and they come back with forays at us. Now, the Limerick boys have the cup, but we will get that back off them again. It was very unusual that the Electoral Commission went off over into County Kilkenny, not only breaking a county boundary but also a provincial boundary. No one expected this or saw it coming. I can tell the House that regarding the people of Cill Chainnigh, níl siad sásta. The Minister of State knows this. He is from and lives in Kilkenny, so who am I telling? I know he will not interfere, unlike the Tullymandering that went on in days past.

I wish this work well. I hope the Cabinet approves this endeavour swiftly and that a debate occurs swiftly as well. People need certainty about where they are going.

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