Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Gallagher. It is appropriate that he is taking this legislation through the House as he is one of the most experienced Members of either House in terms of expertise in the European parliamentary system. It was a pleasant surprise for all of us when he decided to come back from the highways and byways of Europe to represent his home of Donegal in the other House.

I will cause a minor seismic shock by admitting that if I were on the other side of the House I would probably be voting against this legislation, primarily because of section 4. In the age-old tradition, one can argue cogently against a point but then ensure one goes through the lobbies to support the Government of the day — in other words, have one's cake and eat it. That is exactly what I intend to do.

I am particularly struck by the recommendation in the legislation which requires that the Government of the day has no obligation to accept the recommendations of the independent commission. However, due to tradition and precedent, successive Administrations have done this since 1977, when the first of these commissions was set up, and have followed through on commission reports right up to the present day. In that context, I fail to understand why the Government is accepting this landmark change in the references to the four European constituencies, or more accurately, to three of them. Since time immemorial we have been proud of the four provinces of Ireland — in fact, at one time it had five. The provinces of Ulster, Connacht, Leinster and Munster are deeply embedded in the psyche of the Irish people, never more so than in a sporting context. For decades, the Railway Cup competitions were the apex of a footballer's career in representing his province. Sadly, the competition has now fallen into decline.

Wearing my hat as a sports journalist, I know that despite the falling numbers, footballers are proud to pull on the provincial jersey. One need only consider the outstanding success of the rugby teams representing the provinces. Munster is now a byword for excellence in rugby in Europe. Leinster, Connacht and Ulster have also contributed in their own ways to the enhancement of the image of Ireland. People know that Munster, Connacht, Leinster and Ulster are regions of Ireland. Yet at a stroke, the Constituency Commission has recommended that these historic names be changed to anonymous blandness. In future, if these recommendations are accepted, these historic regions will be referred to in the European Parliament as Ireland North-West, Ireland South and Ireland East. What does this mean?

There is massive disaffection among the electorate here and in Europe with the European institutions, particularly the elections to the European Parliament. One need only consider the turnouts to see this. Ireland is particularly fortunate in that regard, but turnouts are declining. What possessed the commission to decide to change the names and further disconnect the Irish electorate from the European elections? What loyalty or adherence will people have in my part of the country to Ireland North-West? I have seen no explanation for this from the commission. It does not explain its decisions; it merely prints them. It seems that because they decided to shift County Clare out of Munster and into Connacht-Ulster, some bright spark on the commission decided that it could no longer be referred to as Connacht-Ulster.

The province of Ulster comprises nine counties. How often does one hear the Six Counties referred to as Ulster? Internationally, those who know little about the history of the island of Ireland assume the term "Ulster" means the current administrative unit controlled by the United Kingdom. We know that the term "Ulster" refers to the nine counties. What difference would it make to continue with Connacht-Ulster and tag on County Clare to rename the constituency Clare-Connacht-Ulster? I am only assuming that the commission decided then to go the whole hog and change all the names. Munster can still be Munster without Clare, while there is no change in the territory of Leinster. I am surprised Dublin was not changed while the commission was at it. There is no sense or logic to this. It is a wrong, damaging and retrograde step.