Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)

I welcome the opportunity to comment on this legislation. I am not sure whether I welcome the Bill. Nevertheless, it provides a good opportunity to remark upon our electoral system as it relates to general and local elections and how it operates.

Everyone agrees in respect of the case that has been made for Leitrim. People do not fully appreciate the strength of county boundaries. Such boundaries are so strong it is unbelievable. I live in the third largest county in the country, Mayo, which has five Deputies. Mayo previously had six Dáil seats but it lost one a number of years ago. The smallest county in the country, Louth, also has five Deputies, which makes its level of representation equivalent to that of County Mayo. I agree with Senator O'Toole's assertion that assessments should be carried out in each constituencies to discover whether people want to lose their Dáil representatives. I am sure it would emerge that they do not want to lose them.

When Mayo was divided into two constituencies — Mayo West and Mayo East — two areas of County Galway, namely, part of Headford and Milltown, were included in one of these. The people in these areas of Galway did not appreciate being included in the constituency of Mayo East and did not feel at home there. I can understand why that was the case. These people continued to align themselves with the constituencies in which they lived — Galway West and Galway East — and the next review of the constituencies saw them returned to these.

When the terms of reference of the commission are being drafted, as Senator Ellis stated, it should be stipulated that county boundaries should not be broken. There is a somewhat farcical situation in the constituencies surrounding the area in which the Leader lives. Part of County Westmeath is incorporated into one of the constituencies of Meath East and Meath West and part of County Meath is incorporated into the constituency of Louth. In addition, part of County Louth is also incorporated into one of the Meath constituencies. This level of gerrymandering is farcical. I have great sympathy with counties the boundaries of which are broken in the interests of creating electoral constituencies.

Senator O'Toole inquired whether there are too many Deputies. There may not be too many of them and if the election of a further two meant that county boundaries would not be broken, I would have to agree with the number being increased. The Senator made the point that the western seaboard and rural areas are losing Deputies who are gravitating towards the larger urban areas around Dublin. In my opinion, this matter will have to be examined not only on the basis of population but also in geographical terms.

The Minister stated that he has been advised by the Attorney General to introduce separate legislation in respect of the spending controls relating to local elections. Far be it from me to question the advice of the Attorney General. Quite a number of the sections contained in the Bill before us relate to local elections but the Attorney General has advised that we should introduce further legislation in respect of spending controls. I am mystified as to why provision cannot be made in respect of those controls in the Electoral (Amendment) Bill in order that the various matters relating to elections might be dealt with in one fell swoop.

In the past, emergency legislative measures were tacked on to various Bills. I do not understand why the spending controls relating to local authority elections could not have been dealt with in this Bill and why they have to be catered for in separate legislation. Like Senator Bacik, I hope the Minister will introduce this legislation in the not too distant future in plenty of time for the local elections. We will then be able to see where we are going in that regard.

I will ask a number of questions about the Bill on Committee Stage. Once the census report is published, the Constituency Commission will automatically be put in place. It comprises a judge of the Supreme Court, the Ombudsman, the Secretary General of the Department and the Clerks of the Dáil and the Seanad and must report back within a given period. The census report may be published six or 12 months before a general election or there could be a snap election. In that case would the commission have to report back within a couple of months and would the new constituency boundaries be put in place? Are there safeguards to ensure the boundaries would be those decided by the previous commission? This should be spelled out more clearly. The Bill does not state the new commission should report back before a general election takes place.

I thought this legislation would cover the electoral register. Two or three years ago there was great anxiety over its compilation. It is an issue at which we should look in detail. We are back to where we were before Members raised concerns about it. Despite the money given to local authorities, new structures have not been put in place to compile it. I hope the Minister will use the legislation he proposes to introduce before the local elections as an opportunity to provide for them.

I have much to say on the Bill but do not have the opportunity to do so now. However, we will have time on Committee Stage to go through some of the issues raised. The Bill covers Dáil and local elections and how candidates are nominated. A number of years ago in the run-up to the presidential election there were arguments about how independent candidates could be nominated. Will this issue be dealt with in the forthcoming Bill? I hope it will be put to bed in it.