Dominic Hannigan (Labour)

I move amendment No. 1:

In page 6, line 23, after "members" to insert the following:

"and 3 member constituencies shall only be recommended where there are exceptional circumstances requiring 3 members".

This amendment proposes that three-member constituencies be allowed in exceptional circumstances only. I am not sure that the current constituency commission has been forced by exceptional circumstances to propose so many three seat constituencies. I am surprised the Minister, Deputy Gormley, has not taken action in this regard. He is on record as saying he favours the elimination of three seat constituencies and a movement towards four seat and five seat constituencies or in some cases six seat and seven seat constituencies. It has been proposed to have many more six seat and seven seat constituencies in this year's local elections. Such constituencies offer a fairer form of proportional representation to the electorate.

I will give the House an example to prove that is the case. The quota in a five seat constituency is 16% of the vote, whereas the quota in a three seat constituency is 25% of the vote. In theory, a candidate could get 24.5%, or almost a quarter, of the vote, but he or she will not be elected if he or she fails to attract transfers. In such circumstances, almost a quarter of the electorate would be completely unrepresented because they live in a three seat constituency. That would not be the case in five seat or six seat constituency. The use of bigger constituencies ensures that 80% of the people and up to 90% in some instances have a direct say in who gets elected. We need to provide for more seats in each constituency if we are to maximise the representation of the people. That is necessary not only in the interests of transparency but also to ensure smaller parties are represented. As things stand, the two main parties, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, probably benefit from the current situation.