Cyprian Brady (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Brendan Smith, to the House and the opportunity to speak on the Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2005. The electoral system is extremely important to every citizen. We also know that the country has changed drastically over the past ten years. Not only has the population increased from 3,917,203 in the 2002 census to approximately 4 million currently, but the demographic profile has altered, in some cases beyond recognition. This was brought home to me during the recent Meath by-election when we spent a lot of time in the county. We visited large housing estates, which were less than ten years old, but which housed thousands of people. The majority were not registered, which was of huge concern to us. A sizeable number were from Dublin or its surrounds, but not exclusively from Dublin. We visited small towns such as Mornington, Bettystown and Laytown and the bigger towns of Dunboyne, Dunshaughlin, Navan and Kells. I was amazed at the increase in residential development in these areas. It was clear that something had to be done. I am glad that many of these areas are included in the commission's report.

As a breed, politicians are probably the most territorially possessive type of people on the planet. Any politician will have difficulty with a change occurring in an established constituency. This has been evident in the Dublin Central constituency. A commission report in the early 1990s overrode probably the most obvious boundary I know of in Dublin, the River Liffey. Senator Minihan referred to the River Lee. The commission, in its wisdom, changed the constituency of Dublin Central, with the altered constituency running from Glasnevin, Drumcondra and East Wall to Cherry Orchard, Ballyfermot and Inchicore. This new set-up had to be worked with and politicians got on with their jobs.

After listening to the eloquent Senator from Leitrim, it is clear that understandable concerns exist. Senators, Deputies and councillors in rural areas tend to have long-standing relationships, in some cases over a generation, while in Dublin and the main cities a certain element of transience is evident. However, the Constituency Commission and the terms of reference it has, which are generally accepted by all, must pay attention to issues such as geographical considerations, the maintenance of contiguous areas, population densities and, where possible, the avoidance of breaking county boundaries. It is not always possible to satisfy these requirements and a delicate balancing act must be undertaken. The commission must also endeavour to maintain continuity in the arrangement of constituencies. As Senator Mooney pointed out, any changes from these terms of reference tend to have major consequences, especially in smaller rural areas.

The changes proposed in the Bill include the increase of the Kildare area to four seats because of a population explosion. The Meath constituency will be split into Meath East and Meath West. Obvious concerns, some of which have been expressed in this debate, exist over the Sligo-North Leitrim and Roscommon-South Leitrim changes as well as with the divide between Longford and Westmeath. SenatorBannon has considered these.

The issue of breaching county boundaries has on a number of occasions been subject to legal challenge but it has not been found to be unconstitutional. The commission, which is constrained by its terms of reference, must adhere as closely as possible to the recommendations set out in the legislation and in view of this its decisions should be taken as a package. This is not an À la carte menu from which we can choose.

Over 100 submissions were received from various individuals, groups and organisations and these were taken into account and assessed. The outcome of the commission's deliberations, as well as the reason for instigating the commission as an independent body, would be undermined if we were to pick and choose from the recommendations that have been made. The precedent for any Government adhering to a commission's advice is well-established. We cannot cherrypick and take one thing and not another. That would bring us back to the bad old days when any changes made were construed as an attempt to gain political advantage by the Government of the day.

Huge changes have occurred in Dublin, with 47 seats over 12 constituencies being retained. With these changes, 31,000 voters are directly affected. I welcome the clarification in section 6, which follows the implications of the Kelly case on electoral expenditure from before the last election and the confusion that was caused by volunteers giving up time and petrol to go canvassing.

Winners and losers will always emerge from the shaping of constituencies but the commission, as a statutory independent body consisting of distinguished public servants, has a difficult and technical task. The integrity of the members of the commission is beyond question and I compliment them on their work in producing this report. I wish the Bill well in its passage through the House.