Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State and his officials. As we come to the end of another calendar year, if not perhaps a political one, I particularly thank the Minister of State for his work in the area of electoral reform. As Senator Cummins said, we are members of the Oireachtas joint committee on housing, planning and local government, so we have a very close interaction with the Department. I take this opportunity to pass on my thanks to the other two Ministers in the Department. Electoral reform is very important and I know the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, is passionate about it.

The Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2023 provides for an amendment to the number of Members of Dáil Éireann, the revision of constituencies and the number of Members to be elected for such constituencies, and the repeal of the Electoral (Amendment) (Dáil Constituencies) Act 2017. It seeks to give effect to European Council decision 2023/2061 of September 2023 establishing the composition of the European Parliament and for the purpose of the revised parliamentary constituencies, provide for the number of members to be elected to such European parliamentary constituencies, amend the European Parliament Elections Act 1997 and provide for related matters.

At the outset, I congratulate the Electoral Commission. We established the commission and it was part of the programme for Government. There was a lot of engagement at committee level, with the Dáil and Seanad and with Oireachtas Members generally. I believe it has done very good work in a short period of time and, of course, is ably led by its chairperson, Ms Justice Marie Baker. In the context of what we are doing today, as the Minister of State has already outlined, the Bill provides for 174 TDs, which is up by 14. While some people balked at the idea, this is an independent commission. I am fully supportive of this, although I want to pass on some comments.

Either we have an independent commission to do work or we do not. In this case, we have a very able one and we should absolutely support it and never call into question its independence. When we think of past arrangements and how the whole thing was manipulated or gerrymandered, or at least it was suggested or alleged that might happen, this is totally independent of any parliamentarian. I accept there were winners and losers in the shake-up of the constituencies, and there was pressure on people, but that is democracy. None of us are here forever, which is a great thing. We are only passing through. We are custodians and guardians in this Parliament. While it is a great privilege and many of us will robustly compete and seek re-election, others will opt out for various reasons. There is always room for fresh ideas and fresh people in these Houses, which is to be encouraged.

It is important that I share some issues with the Minister of State. When the Electoral Commission report on boundaries was under way, there was some discussion. At the launch of the commission's report, when it was finally published, the chairperson, Ms Justice Marie Baker, outlined the challenges that she encountered in preparing and finalising the new electoral boundaries. Among the issues she cited that day was that six-seat constituencies were not allowed. Let us be clear. The Government took a decision to set the terms of reference, which is its prerogative, and it did not permit that. However, Ms Justice Baker decided to take the opportunity to raise this when delivering the commission report. She said that six-seat constituencies were not allowed but “if permitted would allow the commission a greater degree of flexibility in trying to limit the number of county boundary infringements”. There has to be learning in all of this too. That is a wake-up call from the very eminent, able and capable Ms Justice Marie Baker, who was ultimately charged with chairing this commission. She put down that marker.

After the report, many people were talking about boundaries and the possibility of six-seaters, but we must remember that the tripartite Government, with its three groups, agreed the terms of reference. There were restrictions and she was right to point them out. However, she got on with her work and she was not complaining. That was what she was asked to do and she fulfilled the task. Her report also stated that addressing the constitutional and statutory constraints with regard to our election processes is an imperative that requires to be tackled and sorted before the next constituency review by the Electoral Commission. Again, that is a learning. She is telling us something and we have to listen to her. I fully agree with all of the recommendations. It is important that if someone of this stature chooses to make these very concise and considered statements, we need to take them on board.

It is great that there is independence. We are increasing the number of Dáil Deputies and I have no difficulty with that. Of course, there will be challenges around all of that in terms of the infrastructure here, but that is not for today. I will close by commending the commission and its team on their work. It has just published a research paper and it is inviting members of the public to contribute. There is a tight timeframe because it is near Christmas and the closing date for submissions is 12 January 2024, by which date the commission wants feedback on a number of issues dealing with research and the electoral process. That is a positive. Its publications have been very impressive. It is sending a clear message to the public beyond the realms of Leinster House that, as a commission, it wants to engage with and strengthen the electoral processes. It will do the work that it is tasked to do by the Government and it will stay on message within the terms of reference that it is asked to follow, and while there may be limitations, that is not a call that it makes. It is important that the Electoral Commission wants to hear from the public outside of Leinster House. I would encourage people to contribute. The commission wants to prioritise a schedule of research that will support the work of the Minister of State in regard to electoral reform.

I commend the commission on its very successful work it in getting this up and running. Again, I fully support the legislation. It is timely, well articulated and independent. That is what we have always fought for and what we have always sought. We have it now, so let us endorse it.