Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)

Even though we are straying from the Bill, the question of balanced regional development is a very interesting debate. One of my areas of responsibility is related to local services, so the point made by Senator Hannigan is a good one. We must ensure local services are promoted and protected, especially in some of the most rural areas.

Dáil seats are based on population, and that is the bottom line. We must go with that and we give the commission its terms of reference based on the population per seat. The Government's national spatial strategy is important to ensure that regional development is evenly promoted throughout the country. A project I have been anxious to promote is the western rail corridor, which would stretch from Sligo to Limerick, and onto Senator Coffey's County Waterford. Now that we have spent much money on road development, it is important to have rail development as well.

Senator Coffey made the point about the register of electors and the work that his committee is carrying out under the Chairman, Deputy Seán Fleming. I compliment the committee on that important work. It is important for certain issues such as the fact that some people's names are on the register twice or more to be examined in the context of the rolling register. I am glad the committee is working on it.

I would like to mention an interesting fact in response to Senator Hannigan's point about the work of Members of the Dáil who represent Dublin constituencies. It is somewhat ironic that many of the Deputies in question are people from rural Ireland living in Dublin. For example, my brother, Deputy Tom Kitt, and the late Séamus Brennan both moved from County Galway to the same part of Dublin. Both of them were elected for the Fianna Fáil Party to represent the Dublin South constituency at many elections. There is a bit of rural Ireland in every one of us. Senator Coffey rightly pointed out that Dublin is represented by 47 Deputies. It is obvious that the population of Dublin warrants such a degree of representation under the terms of reference given to the constituency commission.

I take all the points that have been made. It is probably a good debate for another day. Section 5 sets out the number of Members of the Dáil who should be elected to represent each constituency. I note that the number of Deputies decreased from 147 in 1923 to 144 in 1969 before increasing to 166 at the present time. As Senator Ellis said, the first decision made by the constituency commission related to the number of seats each constituency should have in the next Dáil.