Pearse Doherty (Sinn Fein)

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit go dtí an Teach chun na ceiste seo a phlé. Ar dtús báire, ba mhaith liom moladh a thabhairt dos na Seanadóirí ón Chomhaontas Glas a chur síos an rún seo inniu. Sílim go bhfuil an díospóireacht seo de dhíth orainn. Fáiltím roimh an rún agus glacaim leis. Beidh mé ag tabhairt tacaíochta dó níos déanaí tráthnóna má tá vóta againn.

There is no doubt the independent electoral commission is long overdue. The Minister, in a very frank and honest address to the House, referred to the fact it is not the first time this has been called for by different bodies. Unfortunately, as we did not have the adjustments and reforms, it was our own citizens and democracy that suffered as a result. However, I agree with the proposal that there be an independent commission to review constituency make-up and boundaries, and to deal with all of the legislative change which is needed given the ethics and standards in public office legislation.

This is especially apt in light of the shortcomings of the constituency commission report last October, which failed to seriously examine the changing demographics of this State. Given that the demographic trend is all in one direction, we need to take this on board. The commission also did not address the problems created as a result of breaking county boundaries, to which Senators referred. Its work amounted to minor cosmetic changes, some of which cut across traditional county boundaries and will require further revision and adjustment within a few years. Serious concern has been raised in County Leitrim, where an atrocious decision has left it without a Deputy. The commission appeared to ignore the much more radical approach that was required and did not admit that the earlier decision to divide Leitrim between two new constituencies was a mistake.

An independent electoral commission might look more seriously at the proposition that there are too many three and four seat constituencies, which tend to benefit the two larger parties. There is a case for such constituencies where they match county boundaries but in general my party would support the idea of larger constituencies. This would benefit parties such as my own but it would also benefit Independents and the smaller groups who want to have a voice in the Houses of the Oireachtas. Sinn Féin has proposed legislative change to allow for six seat constituencies, as was originally envisaged when the current PR voting system was introduced. Not only would this more properly equate the seat share to vote share but it would also lessen the need for regular readjustments of smaller constituencies. This is a matter I would like the electoral commission to examine seriously.

The creation of a genuine independent electoral commission to examine these matters would also avoid the insinuation that the process has been used to further the interests of the governing party or parties that establish such a body. I am not suggesting this was the case in regard to the recent commission report but there have been incidents in the past — I am glad they are consigned to the past — where it would appear that the Government of the day benefited unduly from changes that took place in the constituency make-up. The famous Tullymander case in the mid-1970s was designed to assist the then Government parties of the Fine Gael-Labour coalition. In order to avoid such a prospect in the future, I would support the establishment of an electoral commission as proposed here, namely, one made up of experts and completely independent.

Reference was made to the use of PPS numbers for registration and electoral purposes. This is long overdue. While the Minister said a scoping document will consider international best practice and that the process for this will begin in March and conclude within eight weeks, we need to consider the follow-up to this. When will we see real reform? When will we begin to shape up the electoral register? It was a disgrace last year that field officers were put out into the counties with only a couple of weeks to try to update the register. The results of that were a disaster, particularly in my own county and in parts of Dublin, where thousands of people were disenfranchised and taken off the electoral register because of lack of resources, time and proper planning.

The Minister is trying to look forward and to have proper electoral reform but in the meantime people are losing out. I know of one case where Donegal County Council, of which I was a member, honoured a certain family and gave them the freedom of the county. A number of weeks later, the woman of that family found she had been taken off the electoral register. There is nothing worse for somebody who has been voting all her life than to turn up to cast her vote at a polling station to be told she has been taken off the list. All the questions arise as to who took the person off the list, whether it was a political party or political interference and all the rest. There is a need to deal with this matter in a transparent way. The PPS system is the best way and I cannot understand why we are not taking it seriously, particularly as it could happen outside of the overall reform.

There needs to be an easier way for people to get onto the register. This is very difficult, particularly in rural areas where Garda stations are only open for a couple of hours on a Saturday. It is particularly difficult for young people to get on the supplementary register, for which an application must be signed by a Garda. We need to look at international best practice. Elsewhere, it is possible to register people on college campuses and on the way in to polling stations, so as to make it easy for them to participate in the democratic process.

I hope the commission will examine all aspects of voting in elections. We need Seanad reform, but that is a debate for another day. The Minister referred to international best practice. I hope he will adopt some of these progressive international practices and allow Irish citizens in the Six Counties as well as the Twenty-six Counties to elect the President and thus participate in the democratic process.

Reference has been made in recent weeks to the American elections. Americans citizens in this State have been able to cast their vote for Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton or John McCain. I want a person from the Falls Road, the Bogside or the Shankill Road to be in a position to be able to vote for our President in the future. I also want to be able to see an Irish person who is living in Cricklewood in London, or in Glasgow or America to be able to vote for our President. I hope the commission takes these issues on board. Go raibh maith agat. I, again, applaud the Green Party Senators.