Dominic Hannigan (Labour)

Senator Ellis has made a very good point. The north east of the country has seen significant changes since the publication of the report. Much of the population increase was as a result of new arrivals to the country coming to benefit from and add greatly to the economy, which has now taken a turn for the worse. One consequence of the downturn has been the decision of many people to seek their fortune elsewhere. I can name countless towns and villages in the north east and the commuter belt which are affected by this change. One need only visit a housing estate in Ashbourne and call to people's front doors to realise the number of empty houses now compared with only two years ago. This is because people have moved away. Any estate agent in the north-east region will confirm that properties are becoming cheaper to rent because the demand that existed two years ago no longer exists. As a result, the population in many of these areas has fallen.

I realise the next census is some time away but perhaps the Bill may be based on information already a good deal out of date. The Minister of State might consider re-examining the issue of demographic changes. There has been a fundamental change in the population in many areas. Some villages and towns have seen a 10% or 15% reduction in the number of people, purely because of the flight of foreign workers back home. In some cases such people may not go back home but may go to London to take advantage of jobs that may be available there to help with the building programme for the Olympic Games in 2012. Many people have moved on because the Celtic tiger economy is no more. I am not sure how well that fact has been represented in these figures. We may be adopting legislation based on information already some way out of date.