Paul Bradford (Fine Gael)

I move amendment No. 9:

In page 5, column 1, line 11, to delete "Cork East" and substitute "Cork North-East".

I accept what the Minister stated on the previous amendments, that since the introduction of the independent electoral commission the political parties have accepted per se the recommendations from the various commissions in totality. I have no difficulty with that. We generally accept the constituencies, whether they are redrawn or remain in place. For the general elections of 1969, 1973, 1977 and 1981 the constituency I formerly represented was termed Cork North-East. The next commission, without revising the constituency, perhaps only adding one or two townlands, renamed the constituency Cork East.

Any member of this House or any person with reasonable knowledge of Irish geography knows will that towns such as Mallow, Mitchelstown and Fermoy are as much north Cork as any town can be. If one examines the components of the Cork East constituency one sees the rural districts of Mallow, Mitchelstown and Fermoy are included. I request that we revert to the position of the 1960s and 1970s. Last night or the night before the Cathaoirleach met the former Dáil Deputy, Mr. Dick Barry who represented that constituency for a generation when it was called Cork North-East. The people of Mitchelstown, Mallow and Fermoy clearly live in the geographical area of north Cork. They also live in the north Cork council and administrative areas. The constituency title should reflect that.

I do not question the work of the commission. The name of a constituency is of least concern to it. Obviously I could not make a submission to the commission concerning this issue. If a submission was made it would have been on the basis of second-guessing that the commission would allow the constituency to remain in place.