I move amendment a.a.1:
In page 3, subsection (1) (b), line 22, after "for it" to add "within such constituency".
Section 7 (1) (b) would then read:
constitute it as a polling district and appoint a polling place for it within such constituency.
This is a corollary to the amendment we have been discussing. I still insist that that amendment was justified and I maintain that this amendment is equally justified though, were we to prevail upon the Minister to accept this amendment, he would of necessity have to amend the Bill for Report Stage in regard to subsection (a) to include the words he has already rejected. It is obvious that the Minister will not be anxious to accept this amendment.
It is possible that the Minister might, unpredictably, accept this amendment. It is put forward as an amendment to a specific section. In order to make sense of the amendment one must accept the fact that we are anxious to cut out the danger of ambiguity in relation to the specific constituency which is spelled out in the principal paragraph of section 1. This section deals with the particular arrangements which have been made following the breaking up of the constituency.
This subsection which we propose to amend indicates that a portion of a polling district will be created as a polling district in the new constituency into which it has been placed. Our amendment will more clearly identify the placing of this portion of the old polling district. The addition of the words "within such constituency" is necessary to avoid ambiguity.
This section deals with a polling district which was in existence at the time of the passing of this Act in an existing constituency, say, the present constituency of Dublin South-West. That constituency is being done away with. In the Crumlin area of Dublin at present, there is a polling district situated in Dublin South-West. Arising from the gerrymander of Dublin City we have the situation whereby that particular polling district is divided. Part of it is in Dublin/Ballyfermot, part in West County Dublin and part in Dublin/Rathmines West. According to this section where a polling district—let us call it Crumlin —existing at the passing of this Act finishes up being not wholly situate within one of the constituencies specified in the Schedule to this Act, the appropriate officer—the appropriate officer is spelt out further down as being the manager—after consultation with the returning officer for the constituency concerned, shall with respect to the part of the polling district situate in a constituency so specified, constitute it as a polling district and appoint a polling place for it.
Under the terms of section 7, part of the old Crumlin polling district is in Dublin/Ballyfermot, part in Dublin West County Dublin and part in Dublin/Rathmines West. I cannot understand who is the appropriate officer for the Crumlin district which is split into three different constituencies. I do not know in which constituency the particular polling district is considered to be the appropriate area for the appropriate officer. There is such a degree of ambiguity in this section, in the identification of the appropriate officer for the appropriate section of an aforementioned polling district, that it is impossible to say that the appropriate officer in respect of the part of the polling district situated in a constituency so specified will constitute that portion of the old polling district as a polling district and appoint a polling place for it.
There are three new polling districts to be created out of one old polling district. Therefore, it is necessary to add the words "within such constituency". By spelling out "within such constituency" one is clearly indicating that there is a situation wherein there is a portion of the old polling district within Dublin/ Rathmines West now, a portion of the old South-West polling district within West County Dublin now, and a portion of the old Crumlin polling district within Dublin/Ballyfermot now. Assuming it was divided equally there would be a third in Ballyfermot, a third in West County Dublin and a third in Dublin/Rathmines West. Unless it is spelled out in subsection (b) of this section that each of those areas have to be dealt with within such constituencies, there will be a degree of ambiguity which could mean that the appropriate officer for the Dublin/ Ballyfermot district could find himself constituting a polling district and appointing a polling place for the portion of this Crumlin area which will have been embraced in the Dublin/Rathmines West area.
That is the best way I can get my message across to the Minister. I wanted to clarify this point for the Minister on our first amendment but I did not get the opportunity of presenting that new facet to him because he decided to guillotine the debate. I was trying to spell out the mistake he was making but he could not wait. It had to be guillotined. I am trying to give an example of where the problem can be created. You can have exactly the same situation in a polling district somewhere between Booterstown and Mount Merrion which will be embraced in the Dublin South-East, Dublin South County and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown constituencies. The same type of situation can arise in the Ormond Quay area where Dublin North-Central links in with Dublin (Cabra) and across the river in Dublin South-Central. You could have an old polling district which was in the old Dublin North-Central area with portion of it now in Dublin (Cabra), portion of it in Dublin South-Central and portion of it in Dublin North-Central. We should clear up any possible ambiguity that may arise, with the possibility of returning officers and appropriate officers, those who will be having consultations with the returning officers, walking on each other's corns and claiming jurisdiction over an area over which they may not have jurisdiction, and for which they may not be responsible for issuing registration forms.
We suggest the addition of the words "within such constituency" to section 7 (1) (b) "constitute it as a polling district and appoint a polling place for it". It is easier to explain this than it was in the case of the previous amendment because on subsection (a) we were talking about the possibility of portion of a polling district being assumed into an adjoining polling district in a new constituency. On paragraph (b) we are talking about a more solid portion, a more sizeable portion of the old polling district which can justify the creation of a polling place in its own right which, to follow the Minister's argument in 1969 would constitute the creation of an individual polling place. I do not want to quote the reference again in case the Minister might accuse me of——