I was referring to the electoral system and advocating that the multi-seat system be changed to a single seat system. It is a matter of opinion as to whether there should be a transferable vote or a single non-transferable vote. I was of the opinion for many years that the single transferable vote system would be preferable but I am open to conversion on the issue.
A single non-transferable vote system might give us a far stronger and healthier form of Government, which is most desirable. As individual Members of the Oireachtas we are inclined to think of ourselves and our own seats. That is perfectly normal and human but undesirable where the good of the country is concerned. We should be most concerned about a system which gives us the best type of Government.
The multi-seat system is counterproductive. It is wasteful, indecisive and at the end of the day is not for the betterment of the people. If we are to get a system which is for the betterment of the public and the country the single seat system should be introduced.
The multi-seat system means that the bulk of Deputies spend considerable time performing mundane tasks, competing with the other Deputies in their constituency. That is extremely wasteful. It gives rise to a parish pump type of politics which is highly undesirable. We are elected to Dáil Éireann by the people on the presumption that we will be parliamentarians and enact legislation which will make for a better way of life in the country. That does not happen because of the multi-seat system.
We are competing with each other to give the impression to our constituents that we are working on their behalf on an individual basis, whether it involves the allocation of moneys for houses, water schemes, roads or a multiplicity of items. That should not be the duty of a Member of Parliament. Our duty is to legislate and to run the country. That task will never be performed properly while the multi-seat system is in operation.
Politicians are often unaware that change is taking place. I will give a simple example. A by-election is taking place in Wicklow. When a by-election took place in Wicklow 30 or 40 years ago one could easily choose the likely winner; the chances are it would have been the Fianna Fáil or the Fine Gael candidate. Fine Gael history in by-elections in Wicklow is very good. Nowadays it is not so easy to choose the winner. The current by-election campaign is so fluid that any one of six or seven candidates could win. We all tell the public that our candidate will win but nobody is sure. I have never encountered such uncertainty in a by-election before. There is a number of strong candidates, or perhaps it would be more correct to say that none of the candidates is very strong. While the Fianna Fáil candidate, according to the bookies, has a 2:1 on chance, every day this week in Ascot odds-on favourites have been overturned. It could well be that we will have another upset. That is a sign of the change in political thinking here. The old political system is not as secure or as definite as it used to be.
The Green Party has a candidate in the by-election. I looked up the statistics for the 1992 general election in Wicklow. In that election the green candidate got 1,900 votes. Two years later, the same candidate stood for the European elections and was elected with a vote approaching 50,000. That was a dramatic change in two years. Nothing remains the same. Despite our reluctance to create change it may be wrought upon us. Some startling results may occur from time to time such as the successes of the Green Party in the last European elections. The result of the by-election will be known in about eight or nine days.
The electoral system is not in the best interests of the public or the country because of the parish pump politics to which I have referred. The most outstanding Member of the Dáil, during the period 1989-92, was the former Deputy Pat McCartan of Democratic Left, formerly of The Workers' Party, but in the 1992 general election he lost his seat. That is an indictment of the system we operate. He was, probably, the most competent speaker in this Chamber between 1989 and 1992 on social, legal and economic matters be it at Question Time, on the Adjournment or when dealing with legislation. He was an outstanding Member of Dáil Éireann. Others who had not spoken in the Chamber were re-elected. Although it was recorded in one of the national daily newspapers that a particular Senator had not uttered a word in the Seanad he headed the poll. I have been advising him since that he should not make any speeches as he will only lose votes.
The moral is that the Members should remain quiet, look after their constituents and do all the menial tasks and they will be here for life unless their constituency is carved up. That is what happened in the case of the Acting Chairman's constituency in the recent revision. He lost some of the juiciest voting areas in Wicklow. I sympathise with him but he is such an outstanding performer in the House that I have no doubt he will overcome any handicap and will again survive whenever the next general election is held.
The system we operate is not a good one. It is time the parties in this House did something about it but they are so protective of their seats they will not agree to make changes. Fianna Fáil was the first to recommend changes in the 1950s and 1960s but since it no longer possesses the ability to gain an overall majority it has not pursued the matter any further. This is a pity.
In the Wicklow by-election in which there are seven candidates I hope the Fine Geal candidate will be elected. A Bill should be introduced to ban election canvassing, the displaying of posters and the distribution of literature. In Sweden and other Scandinavian countries political parties conduct their campaigns in a civilised way through the media — radio, television and newspapers. The first small step in this direction was taken in recent years when it was decided that canvassers would have to remain a certain distance from the entrance to a polling station to prevent scuffles breaking out — this was barbaric — as canvassers tried to convince voters that their party's representative was the best candidate. Perhaps we will mature although I despair at times.
I compliment the commission whose decision is in accordance with its terms of reference. I am sorry that its findings do not find favour with the Acting Chairman — long may these commissions remain independent — but I hope in the future that we will have single seat constituencies and that commissions will revise constituencies on that basis.
Notice taken that 20 Members were not present; House counted and 20 Members being present,