Denis Landy (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan.

I agree with practically everything the previous speaker said. As an Independent Senator, he has given us a good overview of where we are in politics at this time. I do not take much notice of the Fianna Fáil spokesperson telling us the Cabinet should be separate from the rest of us and that it should seek support through the party system before making decisions. He also suggested we take another look at how we fill positions on State boards. Fianna Fáil, the party that has filled thousands of State board positions in the past 50 or 60 years, seems to have suddenly woken up and decided we should use some new format. It never ceases to amaze me how Fianna Fáil Members can come in to the House and with a straight face seek to give advice to the Government. It is mind-boggling.

On the issue of localism in politics, I take a different view from the previous speaker. For me, politics is and should be about local issues and local communities. Of course, we must develop policies and a way forward for the Government and the economy. However, we must never forget that politics begins in local communities. I have been practising politics for 25 years at a local level and now at Oireachtas level. If we do not listen to people on the ground, we will lose sight of where we ought and need to go.

In the context of this legislation, everybody makes a play for his or her area. My county, Tipperary, which had two constituencies, will now be just one and its length, at approximately 110 miles, will be longer than the distance from my home to Dublin. Following the commission's recommendation, the new constituency will cover 93% of the county. Despite an increase in population of 8.2% in south Tipperary, the two Tipperary constituencies are being made into one. The Government decided to reduce the number of seats in the Dáil as part of the programme for Government and we are now seeing this being implemented.

We must also address the disparity in population densities. For example, counties Laois and Kildare are overpopulated as against the number of seats, while County Limerick and parts of Dublin are underpopulated for the number of seats allocated. We must ensure equalisation in this area, although there are swings and roundabouts. Some people will have concerns. For example, my colleague, Senator Rónán Mullen, might be concerned that his local area is being plucked out of its traditional constituency. When a job of work is set out for a commission, there are always difficult decisions to be made.

The Government is fulfilling the constitutional requirement under Article 16.2.4o to ensure reviews are carried out every 12 years. This change is being made partly as a cost saving measure, but the cost savings - no more than what would be saved in the case of the Seanad, an issue we will debate later this week - will be minimal. When talking about reform, we should not put it all down to the word "reduction". Reform is about changing the way we do things.

I agree with the previous speaker that the committee system is a joke. Every time we attend a committee meeting we never get through the agenda. There is a log-jam and we sit for hours in order to make a brief contribution on an item in which we have an interest only to be beaten by the clock. Members spend a full afternoon at committee meetings but end up getting nowhere. They only become frustrated and have no opportunity to contribute on the issues in which they have an interest or which are of importance to them. I agree with the previous Senator totally in that regard.

Electoral reform is needed across the sphere of politics. In the coming months I understand we will deal with the issue of local government reform.

The contents of the Putting People First document represent a step towards local government reform, but much more is required. I have said a great deal on this matter in this House in the presence of the Minister, and I will say a great deal more about it.

When the measure that has been introduced to deal with the gender issue is acted out at the next general election, I am not sure we will find that its results will be for the betterment of democracy in this country. I will have to wait and see. I hope I am proved wrong.

The Government has brought this legislation before the House on foot of the review it was required to undertake. It has made a good fist of the recommendations that were made by the commission. I look forward to seeing how this is implemented.