Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

As the reply was drafted for the Minister of State, it is clearly not her fault. The Minister of State appears to be as confused as I am. The reply refers to an additional four members for boroughs. It also refers to a minimum total of 18 and a maximum of 40. I am sure the legal eagles would have good fun with that. As I understand it, places such as Sligo and Kilkenny will have 18 members plus an additional four. However, the view among the Minister of State's colleagues and others is that the maximum is 18. While I do not wish to disenfranchise County Leitrim, the population there is approximately 32,000, while the population in Sligo is approximately 66,000. As I stated earlier, Sligo has the ninth largest urban centre nationally. Perhaps the Minister of State will clarify whether the maximum for Sligo will be 18 or 22. In the event that it is only 18, I ask that the Minister revisit the decision. It would be ridiculous in the extreme to suggest that 18 members will represent 66,000 equally as well as 18 will represent 32,000.