John Ellis (Fianna Fail)

Senator Hannigan has a point. Where surpluses are used as part of the vote transfer in a general election, it is up to the returning officer who can select from any bundle and it is not pure proportional representation. I experienced this many moons ago when the bundles from the surplus selected to be gone through were not balanced across the constituency. It is a matter that should be looked at in the context of further electoral reform that the transfer of surpluses is dealt with in a proper manner, as is done in the case of Seanad elections where they are proportioned out fully. In the case of general elections the bundles chosen by the returning officer are those used for the transfer of surpluses and it does not always give a equal balance on how the electorate was thinking.