David Cullinane (Sinn Fein)

I move amendment No. 4:

In page 3, before section 4, to insert the following new section:

"4.—Section 6 (amended by section 9 of the Electoral (Amendment) Act 2009) of the Act of 1997 is amended in subsection (2) by substituting the following paragraph for paragraph (b):

"(b) each constituency shall return four, five or six members.".".

I appreciate that other Members have tabled similar amendments and therefore I will be brief. I want to hear what the Minister has to say on this amendment and I reserve the right to contribute again. My view and the view of my party on multi-seat constituencies is that they have operated in the past. Senator Mooney or some other Member from Fianna Fáil gave examples of five and six seat constituencies in the 1920s and 1930s. Cathal Brugha and his wife were TDs for the then Waterford-South Tipperary constituency.