Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)

There are members of the media who parade virtues everywhere. The commission is going by the boundary review as laid out in the census of population. The terms of reference were slightly askew, however.

I have concerns in a number of areas, including with regard to the number of people who have left Cork and the west, and Senator Coffey spoke about Waterford being part of Tipperary South. We are not giving people the representation they deserve. I am not blaming the commission, I am blaming the terms of reference. By its nature, there is a drift towards the capital and the periphery of Dublin. If we want to go back to the Pale mentality of long ago, that is fine, let us do it, but the rest of Ireland loses.

As I said on another Stage of the debate, I do not subscribe to the view that the N7 at the Red Cow is the beginning and end of Ireland. I am a Cork man and proud of it. I believe Cork is the capital of Ireland and we should not be losing TDs as we have been — a TD was taken from Cork North-Central following the second last commission, which was a wrong move. To take the Cork area strategic plan, CASP, area of metropolitan cork as an example, one could have a very good constituency boundary for the wider Cork area which would take cognisance of the division made by the River Lee and would take in emerging communities in Carrigaline and Douglas, and put them with Bishopstown and Ballincollig in Cork South-Central. In Cork North-Central, one could take Glanmire and Blarney and put them in different constituencies. This would make for very attractive constituencies. I have some concerns in this regard.

With regard to the role of parliamentarians, I subscribe to the view that people should know, interact with and regularly meet their TDs, Senators and councillors — in this case TDs, as the boundary commission report concerns TDs. If we want to become like England or America, that is fine. We will all stay in Dublin four days a week and then drive down in the car and nod the head at the weekend. Personally, I do not want to do that. I am concerned we are heading in that direction in some of the constituencies we are creating, particularly in the Dublin area.

To digress — I crave the indulgence of the Cathaoirleach——