Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Why is Mayo so under-represented in this Bill? It makes no sense. There is only one seat for Mayo on the board, which is a 50% reduction on what we had following the 2005 election. There is no representation at all for the west Mayo Gaeltacht of Oileán Acla, which is too small to have an impact on the Mayo constituency. All of this is being done to facilitate more ministerial appointments to Údarás na Gaeltachta. It is not right. We need democratic representation.

Sinn Féin's proposals would provide for two separate constituencies in County Mayo, that is three seats in total, with two seats to represent Erris in north Mayo, one seat for Oileán Acla in north Mayo and not forgetting Tuar Mhic Éadaigh. We need fairness here. I urge the Minister to stand up for County Mayo and to adopt Sinn Féin's proposal to ensure fair representation for the Gaeltacht areas in our county. We are very proud and very dedicated to the Gaeltacht areas but we need to stand up and make sure democracy prevails there. The people living in the Gaeltacht deserve and expect nothing less.

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