John Ellis (Fianna Fail)

Members will have received the Electoral (Amendment) Bill published last week. We had consensus in both Houses with regard to counties such as Leitrim which have been subdivided, including the Cathaoirleach's county, part of which has been included in Munster. As long as it is not for hurling purposes I suppose it will be acceptable. Part of Meath is with Louth, part of Offaly is with Tipperary and part of west Limerick is with Kerry. Everybody is being thrown to the wolves.

The Labour Party leader, Deputy Gilmore, gave a commitment that he wanted to see something done with regard to county boundaries. Many Fine Gael Members who spoke in both Houses were of the same opinion. Given that the Bill will not come before either House prior to the autumn, perhaps it would be a good idea to ask the Minister to refer it back to a new commission whose terms of reference should be that county boundaries should not be broken. To ensure the people of Leitrim have representation and the people of south Offaly are not represented in Tipperary, the number of Deputies could be increased from 166 to 168. The previous commission had the opportunity to do this but did not take it.