Seán Kyne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. Cuirim fáilte freisin roimh an ainmniú seo de cheathrar chuig An Coimisiún Toghcháin. Is coimisiún fíorthábhachtach é seo ó thaobh toghchán don todhchaí sa tír seo, agus tá sé neamhspleách freisin. I welcome the Minister of State. I welcome the progress in the establishment of the Electoral Commission and congratulate the four nominees, subject to the signature of the President. I know they initially expressed an interest, and it is important that people have an interest in serving on the Electoral Commission. They then succeeded in getting through interviews and were chosen. They have important work to do. It is the first Electoral Commission to be chaired by a serving or retired judge. That is an important point with regard to accountability and the respect that people have for the Judiciary.

The Electoral Commission's most important initial work will be with the boundary review. I would prefer if it had been established earlier and if it was further along in the process than it is. It has to be established, go through public consultation and engagement, and then it or the Minister will decide on the number of seats in the new Dáil. I am not sure who will make the decision. The commission will then determine the boundaries. From soundings, that is likely to happen next June or July and will be legislated for before the summer recess. That is important because in any role or job, people need to know where they stand. Electoral boundaries are important for any practising politician. They might not exercise the general public too much, but for serving politicians and people who want to be politicians, they are important. People are impacted and upset when counties are divided by new electoral boundaries. South Mayo is part of the Galway West constituency. A proposal to include south Mayo in the name of the constituency was turned down. People in south Mayo rightly feel they belong to Mayo and would rather it stayed in the county for electoral purposes. That may occur, subject to the next boundary review. It has happened in other places, including Carlow, Tipperary, Limerick, Clare, Leitrim, Donegal and even Westmeath. It is important that, where possible, the division of counties is limited.

The electoral register is another important issue. In some ways, this will become easier because the register can move to an online system and more people now have means to check the register and so on. Compilers used to physically go out to new estates, at least to some degree, and some local authorities were better at this than others. What role will local authorities have? In my engagement with Galway County Council, it is happy to pass the parcel to the Electoral Commission so that it will do the register and the local authority will not have to do it. If an estate has been built in the last two or three years, with 50, 60 or 70 houses in it, people will move in, with some being from the locality or others from a neighbouring town or county. By the time they organically decide to change their voting location on the register or to check the register, when they realise it is something they should do, it might be very close to the election. One might find that the residents of a new estate are totally disenfranchised in the subsequent election. The Electoral Commission and county or city council should engage with residents in new estates at an early opportunity. Once it is known that a new estate is occupied, they should get in there and ensure that a majority of people are registered. There will always be changes. People will move. I would be concerned if we are leaving new estates without an accurate register of their residents.

We have a proud history of referendums in this country. It is not always easy. An independent electoral commission has had to be established for every referendum, which is now a role for this Electoral Commission. It is important work. I congratulate the Minister of State on his involvement in this. I hope to see the boundary commission established as soon as possible.