Dominic Hannigan (Labour)

I welcome the Minister to the House. In the context of our current difficulties it strikes me as rather an academic exercise to be discussing this Bill. I concur with Deputies in the other House and also Members of this House who questioned the usefulness of spending further time on a Bill that is more or less out of date before it is even enacted.

However, I commend the useful work undertaken on Committee Stage by both Deputies and Senators. I do not wish to speak at length about the Bill in general but I will make a few specific points.

For those of us who have paid attention to the Green Party policies over the years there is no doubt that the Minister is personally committed to ensuring that electoral reform is carried out. I refer to a point raised by Senator Boyle about allowing younger people to vote in local elections. I am disappointed the Minister has not taken the opportunity, bearing in mind the time between now and June, to include an amendment to allow 16 and 17 year olds vote in the local elections. As I said in this House before, many German länder now allow 16 and 17 year olds to vote in local elections and this is also the case in Austria and in a number of Swiss cantons. A referendum would be required to allow such young people to vote in a Dáil election but it could be made possible through legislation in the case of voting in the local elections. It is a missed opportunity not to include an amendment and I am in agreement with Senator Boyle that we need to extend the vote. Time is moving on and it is only 18 short weeks to the local elections.

While I admire the Minister's commitment to electoral reform, I worry about the capacity of the Minister to deliver. I do not question his bona fides but there has been inertia on the part of the larger Government party, Fianna Fáil, on this issue throughout the years. Successive Fianna Fáil Governments have had little interest in changing the system and this is one of the reasons we have seen such tardiness on the subject of reform.

I welcome the Minister's general announcement of his intention to set up a new electoral commission. The successful operation of our political system and electoral process has been more or less outsourced to local authorities. While I do not wish to denigrate the work of the local authorities in this regard, it is clear they have consistently proved that this task is a step beyond them and this is a question of resources. We need to remove the responsibility from local authorities. I refer to difficulties with the electoral register and attempts to match the electoral register with the people on the ground. This is an area which requires a lot of work and currently falls short of the mark. This issue arose at the Oireachtas Committee on the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, of which I am a member, in discussions with the Minister. I am glad he is set on addressing and improving the whole process.

According to recent media reports, it is expected the new commission will take responsibility, not just for the electoral register, but for party registration and the administration of nominations, and so on. If this is true, then it is an eminently sensible idea as these tasks should not belong with local authorities. An efficient, independent and focused central electoral authority would have much more success in dealing with this and more public confidence would be gained in the overall electoral process.

The establishment of such an agency would be of enormous historical value as a one-stop-shop for electoral records. Most other European countries have a central government system for maintaining information on previous elections whereas Ireland does not. It would be valuable if such a function were contained in the remit of such an agency. Will the Minister make available the full report on the proposed commission? Will he give a commitment that its recommendations will be implemented during the Government's lifetime.

The issue of proportionality and equality of representation also arises. We are moving away from five-seat constituencies — which up to recently were seen to be fair — to three-seat constituencies. This does a disservice to smaller parties. It is in the interest of the larger parties to maximise the number of three-seat constituencies but it does not do much for the democratic process. I agree with my colleague in the other House, Deputy Tuffy, when she addressed the commission's terms of reference and called for avoidance of three-seat constituencies unless they are necessary.

Senator Ellis spoke about the redrawing of the Leitrim constituency boundary and other Members have similarly referred to Kerry and Limerick. It is also an issue in the Meath East constituency. The current ban on six-seat and seven-seat constituencies means the commission has no alternative but to split counties to ensure proper representation. The problem is that such a split means the constituencies bear little resemblance to the counties they are meant to represent. For instance, when the Bill is enacted, thousands of people living in east Meath will vote in Louth, thousands in the west of the county will vote in the Meath East constituency while people in Westmeath will vote in the Meath West constituency. It is clear county boundaries are being crossed and I am not sure this was the House's intention when it gave the commission its remit.

Some Members in the Lower House raised concerns over the delivery of the Constituency Commission's report. While the independence of the commission is not in doubt, the validity of every decision it arrives at is. It is desirable that a draft report should be presented in advance of the final version.

I reiterate the Labour Party's support for general reform in the electoral area. We would also like to see more such as extending the voting age to 16 for local elections and Seanad reform. We have awaited these for some time and the Government, in its lifetime, needs to deliver. The Labour Party supports the Bill. The establishment of an empowered, efficient and independent electoral commission would represent a considerable body of work. I look forward to the Minister providing a timeline for this and further detail on the formulation and implementation of such a body.