Deirdre Clune (Fine Gael)

I am glad to have the opportunity to speak on the Bill, which is the first step in reforming the Oireachtas and the local authorities. Many would have campaigned in the last general election, and I certainly did, on the need for reform because if we are not prepared to change, we cannot ask others to change. Never before has there been such an appetite for reform among the electorate and the Oireachtas members. Everybody wants to see change.

It is not just about cost cutting. In the course of his speech the Minister, Deputy Hogan stated:

The McCarthy report on public service numbers and expenditure programmes estimated a saving of approximately €3 million with a reduction to 154 Deputies.

This is not an insignificant amount but it is more about efficiency of services. In my constituency, comprising four different electoral area, there were five Dáil Deputies and two Senators, a total of seven members of the Oireachtas. Quite often one could have up to 14 public representatives at some of those meetings, which was an inefficient use of resources. I would not agree with the criticism of the Bill as piecemeal legislation; it is a start and I am sure we will see much more from the Minister. I know his reforming zeal and he is sharpening his knives and getting ready to move across the board.

There are three issues covered in the Bill, the first relating to a reduction in the number of Deputies, which will become relevant now that the census has been produced and the constituency commission is to be established. The terms of reference of that commission will reflect the elements of the legislation when it is enacted.

The presidential election will take place in a few months, in either October or November, and we are well on the way in that campaign. Some candidates have been established. The spending limits will be relevant to their campaign. The by-election can take place at any time. It was an absolute disgrace in the previous Dáil that the people of counties Donegal and Waterford and South Dublin were without representation for a long period. I acknowledge that the then Senator Pearse Doherty took a case to court that ensured the people in Donegal had their by-election. We will have legislation in place that by-elections will be triggered in a period of six months, if the writ has not been moved. That is an important step for democracy.

I was very pleased to see that the population has increased beyond expectation to 4.58 million, which is the highest it has ever been since 1851. We have one TD per 27,000 of population. The figure I would have had in my head is that we had a TD for every 20,000. We can push it to one TD for every 30,000 people and I think it is important to introduce such efficiency across the 43 constituencies we have at present. We do not know how they will end up after the next commission. At the last census the percentage of population living in Leinster was 54%, again we saw an increase in the greater Dublin area and in Leinster. In the Cork area we lost one seat as a result of the last census and we are down to 19 seats. I have a suspicion that we will lose another seat which I see will go to the east. Similarly, in the Kerry North-Limerick West constituency, one seat went to the east. Looking at where Dáil seats are gives a quick picture of population density and where it is based. It will be tricky for the commission. It is important to keep five-seat constituencies and I am not averse to six-seat constituencies. They have proven to support smaller parties, which gain seats in larger constituencies, and it is important to have this in our PR-STV system to ensure representation across the board and that smaller parties are not frozen out. I have much more to say but I see the Acting Chairman is looking at me. I know we will have an opportunity for discussion with the Minister on Committee Stage tomorrow and on Report Stage. I welcome this Bill and it marks a progression on the road of much needed reform of our representative system.