Michael Mullins (Fine Gael)
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At this late hour, I would like to welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Fergus O'Dowd. I call on Senator Thomas Byrne.

Thomas Byrne (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Cathaoirleach for allowing me to raise this matter on the Adjournment. I am disappointed that we are still here so late at two minutes past midnight. It is the wrong time to be doing business. Lessons should have been learned from what happened before that we should not sit so late.

The independent Boundary Commission published the Local Electoral Area Boundary Committee report at the end of May. We have, however, a real problem with the electoral division boundaries. The net effect of the boundary review in County Meath is that there are now six districts: Laytown-Bettystown, Ashbourne, Ratoath, Trim, Navan and Kells. The Ashbourne-Ratoath and Laytown-Bettystown boundaries are anomalous. As far as I can see from the maps, part of the village of Duleek, the Millrace estate, is in the Ashbourne area. It is in the townland of Bellewstown, which includes the road along the new lines of Duleek cemetery. Parts of the school road in Duleek are in the Ashbourne area. This is highly anomalous because there is a local authority headquarters in Duleek. It is a stone's throw from the Millrace estate to the local authority headquarters, but a large part of that estate will be in the Ashbourne area, so residents will not be able to deal with the nearby office.

I recall that there is a "Welcome to Duleek" sign in the Ashbourne electoral area, despite the fact that Duleek is the administrative headquarters for the Laytown-Bettystown area. That is anomalous.

The same applies to the townland of Baltransna, which is very much part of Ashbourne but is in the Ratoath electoral area. In fact, there is a "Welcome to Ashbourne" sign in the townland of Baltransna which is in the Ratoath electoral area, not in the Ashbourne electoral area. That is also an anomaly.

I will not blame the commission, which did respond to a submission from a political party and that was accepted. I think there is a problem with the district electoral division boundaries. I do not know when they were last reviewed or examined, but they are the building blocks of all boundary reviews, either for Dáil or local electoral areas. They do not reflect the towns involved. For example, the district electoral division boundaries go through the village of Duleek, rather than the village being in its own district electoral division. That may be a technical matter but I think the Minister of State gets the point. The bottom line is that the village of Duleek is partially split into two different electoral areas. In addition, part of Ashbourne is not in the Ashbourne electoral area. That situation is highly anomalous and the Government should re-examine it.

Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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I thank Senator Byrne for bringing this matter before the House. Bhí mé ag éisteacht leis níos luaithe san oíche. Tá Gaeilge an-mhaith aige. Chuir sé pointe an-mhaith romhainn.

I acknowledge the points raised by Senator Byrne and welcome the opportunity to clarify issues regarding the recent report of the 2013 Local Electoral Area Boundary Committee. Each Member of these Houses is no doubt interested in the recommendations of the committee, especially as they relate to their own county or city. As the Senator will be aware, I am familiar with many parts of County Meath. Parts of the county are in County Louth in terms of the Dáil electoral area.

The committee was established by the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Hogan, in November 2012 and its report was published on 30 May 2013. In publishing the report, the Minister announced his intention to accept in full the recommendations therein and to make in due course the necessary local electoral area orders to give them effect. The local electoral areas specified in these orders, and the number of members to be elected for each area, will apply at the 2014 local elections. Arrangements are currently in train to prepare these orders and they will be ready in good time for next year's elections.

The completion of the report was an important step in the Government's programme of local government reform. The review had a specific goal of improving balance and consistency in representational ratios in local government, while taking particular account of factors such as the location of towns in the new municipal governance arrangements provided for in the action programme for effective local government. The terms of reference provided for minimum levels of representation in lower-population counties and cities.

Arising from the recommendations in the report, a total of 949 councillors will be elected at the 2014 elections, in 137 local electoral areas, to 31 local authorities. Much of the commentary on the report has focused on the reduction in the number of council seats from 1,627 to 949 and the number of local authorities from 114 to 31. However, beyond these reductions is the development of a far more integrated approach between county and municipal government which will better serve the needs of all citizens.

This radical structural reform will provide a sound platform for the wider development and strengthening of the local government system in the future. The current number of councillors in local authorities was set in the distant past. There have been huge changes in population in recent decades and, indeed, one of the counties particularly affected has been Meath.

Whereas previous local electoral area reviews left the total number of members in each local authority unchanged, this review involves a fundamental reform of the system. One practical consequence is that the number of members of Meath County Council will increase from 29 to 40. That is a very significant increase.

The recommendations in the report stand as they are. The Minister, Deputy Hogan, accepts them in full, for Meath and for every other local authority area. As the Minister mentioned some months ago, when the new arrangements for Dáil constituencies were being debated - and more recently when Senator Cullinane raised the local electoral area boundaries for Cork in this House - there are pluses and minuses in constituency and boundary reviews. In nearly every situation there are multiple options and a range of solutions. However, every change or move has a knock-on effect, with consequences for other parts of a county.

Thomas Byrne (Fianna Fail)
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I think the problem lies with the district electoral division boundaries which are really old. In fact, there are huge anomalies in the St. Mary's electoral division. The Minister of State lives on the Louth side, while I live on the Meath side of that division. The Ardcath electoral division comes into Duleek, as well as Ratoath and Ashbourne but they do not reflect the towns or villages they are supposedly named after. I do not know how long they have been there, but they have certainly been there since the 1901 census or even earlier. We should examine those electoral boundaries so that towns such as Duleek would have their own district electoral division. In that case, there would be fewer anomalies when the Boundary Commission creates local electoral areas or Dáil constituencies. It could work well, but that is the root of the problem in my view.

Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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I take Senator Byrne's point. I remember when St. Finian's Park was a new estate in Drogheda, the residents voted out in Donore for quite a number of years. There are such anomalies so I will bring the Senator's comments to the attention of the Minister, Deputy Hogan.

Thomas Byrne (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State. Oíche mhaith.