Michael McDowell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I wish to advert to the contribution of Senator Norris. The amendment in 1979 was passed by 92% of people. They did not stipulate that there must be a single constituency, as provided for in this Bill and as proposed by the Government. They said we could divide up the seats differently. Senator Norris might be interested to know that it is perfectly legitimate under the Constitution to hold that Trinity College would have a seat no matter what, or that NUI would have a seat, etc. That is something which can be dealt with. The issues raised by Senator Norris can be discussed on Committee Stage. This is not a black and white or binary matter whereby everyone is in one constituency and no existing elements of the third level sector can be somehow protected.