Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the House and thank him for bringing this information to us today. To be fair, Senator Higgins has made a telling contribution in this context, no matter what one's view is on Seanad reform or one's position regarding this House. I am anxious not to digress from the matter before us, but if we are to build upon the Taoiseach's contribution on this subject last Monday and his claim that he saved the Seanad, as the leader of the Government, and in the context of this proposal of the nomination of the four members of the electoral commission and its wider body of work, the omission of the Seanad from the terms of reference does, from a cursory glance, seem glaring.Maybe it is not. If it is not then the Minister of State will illuminate us and tell us. We look forward to having that debate at a later date. Building on last Monday if we are serious about reform of the Seanad, my position as Acting Cathaoirleach, as Senator Higgins knows, has not changed from when I was on that piece of work, the McDowell report. There is a legitimate role for the county councillors and Members of the parliamentary community in addition to extending and writing the franchise. How we arrive at that end game is what we can work on.

I welcome the appointment of the four members. The one who will gain the headlines will be former Deputy, John Curran, who is a very fine person and I have no issue with him. Also Alex Attwood who is a former politician in Northern Ireland. Professor Fennell in UCC is an extraordinary person and I wish all of them well in their role. The new Electoral Commission, if I am correct, will present new electoral boundaries to the Houses of the Oireachtas by next summer based on the census. The number of Members of the Lower House will then increase. I have been clear in my view that the Electoral Commission for its success is not going to be about its impartiality because it will be neutral and fair. It will not be that it does its work. It will be its failure to read and recognise the submissions made about the composition of the next Dáil electoral boundaries. We had the controversy this morning with the planning and development around the new An Bord Pleanála about community groups and residents’ associations. Equally the Electoral Commission could become potentially mired in controversy over its failure to acknowledge legitimate submissions by people across the board. I will give two references, the first of which will not surprise Members. We have disenfranchised thousands of people in Cork City who are living just by my left arm here in the Chamber and voting in a constituency with which they have no affinity or anything in common. It is not right that a person living in Bishopstown on the north side of Curraheen Road cannot vote as the people on the south side of Curraheen Road can do. That is not right. I am challenging the Electoral Commission today in this House to look at the way in which they draw the electoral constituencies in order to be fair to people and communities. I accept that proportionality must apply in order to meet the constitutional requirements. I understand that. However as a State we can be creative when we want to be in many different ways. The second example is in the context of the number of seats allocated to a constituency. It is five, four or three. One of the successes of the local election was the increase in the number of seats to six or seven in some cases.

I welcome the appointment of the four people, two of whom I know. They are excellent people. The four come with tremendous track records and I wish them well.