David Cullinane (Sinn Fein)

It certainly might. However, that is the point I am making - it then comes down to the issue of jerseys and the GAA rather than what is best for the country. This is being done in the context of the type of clientelist political system we have, whereby national politicians, unfortunately, end up having to watch their back in terms of other elected representatives in their area. The Minister said he has played the game himself. If that is the game to be played, we all have to play it. Nevertheless, there should be a genuine commitment from all political parties to move away from that type of system of governance. National politicians should have national responsibilities and local politicians should have local responsibilities. That is the point we are making in proposing this section and not wanting a reduction in the number of Deputies with local government reform. Reducing the number of Deputies by 30 or 40 will not end the culture of people coming to national politicians to sort out local problems and the nature of the clientelist system in this country. It seems ingrained in the political system in this country. All parties, including Sinn Féin, play that game and reinforce the system rather than challenging it. The Minister of State made reference to this as something that must change. All political parties must face up to the challenge and if we want to have a system of governance fit for purpose, where national politicians are legislators and do what they are elected to do and local politicians do what they are elected to do, it requires much more than what is contained in this Bill. For those reasons, I oppose this section.