asked the Minister for Local Government and Public Health when it is intended to introduce legislation to revise the Dáil constituencies for the purpose of securing that the number of Teachtaí for each constituency shall be in accordance with Article 16 of the Constitution.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Revision of Constituencies.
asked the Minister for Local Government and Public Health if he will state the Dáil constituencies in which, at present, the number of Teachtaí is not such as was contemplated by paragraphs 2 and 3, Section 2, of Article 16 of the Constitution.
I propose to answer the Deputy's two questions together, as the replies overlap to a considerable degree.
The constitutional requirements concerning constituencies for Dáil Éireann are contained in Section 2 of Article 16 of the Constitution, which provides, briefly, that constituencies will be determined by law, returning not less than three members who shall be elected by the system of proportional representation, and that constituencies shall be revised under the Constitution at least once in every 12 years. In addition to these, there are the provisions of Article 16.2.2º and Article 16.2.3º to which the Deputy specifically refers. It may be as well to quote these in full:—
"16.2.2º
The number of members shall from time to time be fixed by law, but the total number of members of Dáil Éireann shall not be fixed at less than one member for each 30,000 of the population, or at more than one member for each 20,000 of the population.
3º
The ratio between the number of members to be elected at any time for each constituency and the population of each constituency, as ascertained at the last preceding census, shall, so far as it is practicable, be the same throughout the country."
Under Article 16.2.2º, if the population of the State were approximately 2,970,000, as it was in 1936, the membership of the Dáil should not be greater than 148 nor less than 99. The present membership of the Dáil is 138 and is well within the limits prescribed.
Article 16.2.3º, which I have quoted, qualifies the requirement in relation to a common ratio between Teachtaí and population in two respects, namely, the population should be that as ascertained at the last preceding census, and the ratio shall be the same so far as is practicable. Particulars of the population as ascertained at the last preceding census are not yet available. It is true that the ratio of Teachtaí to population varies to a certain extent in constituencies throughout the country, but it would be possible to have complete uniformity of ratio in every constituency only at the expense in many cases of ignoring social, economic administration and geographical considerations. That would not be practicable. This natural variation between constituencies has been accentuated by the shifts in population which have taken place since the last revision. Just what these changes have been we cannot say until the results of this year's census are available. I might add that the period in which the first revision of constituencies under the Constitution must be made does not expire until December, 1949.
I cannot accept, therefore, the implications in the Deputy's questions that the number of Teachtaí for any constituency is not in accordance with any of the provisions of Article 16 of the Constitution. It is accepted, however, that revision of the existing constituencies should be undertaken under the Constitution as soon as the essential census figures are available, and I hope to lay proposals to that end before the Dáil as soon as it is practicable to do so.
Who is cooking the new constituencies—you or the Minister for Justice?
Nobody.
That is the Minister for Agriculture's job. He must keep up to date.