I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."
This is a short but important Bill. It is important to existing and prospective TDs and to the electorate they serve. The proposed constituencies will be effective from the next dissolution of the Dáil until the next review, which will take place after the next census. Under Article 16 of the Constitution a revision of constituencies must be carried out at least once every 12 years. That Article also provides that the ratio between the number of Members to be elected at any time for each constituency must, as far as is practicable, be the same throughout the country. The practice is that constituencies are revised whenever a census of population shows significant change in the total population or in its distribution. In the past 30 years a revision has taken place after each census. The Minister for the Environment and Local Government is required, under section 5 of the Electoral Act, 1997, to establish a constituency commission upon publication by the Central Statistics Office of a census report setting out the population of the country classified by area.
The census taken in 1996 showed an increase of more than 100,000 in the population since the previous census in 1991. In some constituencies the number of persons represented by each Dáil Member was considerably above the national average while in others it was well below the average.
An independent statutory commission was set up last September to report on Dáil and European constituencies. Its statutory terms of reference were essentially the same as the terms given to previous commissions. In accordance with the provisions of the 1997 Act, Mr. Justice Richard Johnson, judge of the High Court, was appointed chairperson of the commission on the nomination of the Chief Justice. The other members of the commission were the Ombudsman, the Secretary General of the Department of the Environment and Local Government, the Clerk of the Dáil and the Clerk of the Seanad. The commission was entirely independent in carrying out the task given to it, constrained only by the Constitution and the terms of reference. I am glad to have this opportunity to thank the members of the commission for the conscientious and even-handed way in which they completed their task.
The purpose of the Bill is to fix the total number of Members of Dáil Éireann and to revise the constituencies to bring them into line with the provisions of the Constitution regarding equality of representation. The Bill proposes to implement in full the recommendations made in the commission's report. Section 2 provides that the total number of Members of Dáil Éireann after the next dissolution will be 166, the same number as at present and the number recommended by the commission. Section 3 provides that the Members of Dáil Éireann will represent the constituencies specified in the Schedule. The total number of constituencies will increase by one to 42. The proposed new constituencies set out in the Schedule will come into force on the next dissolution of the Dáil.
While there is no change in the existing representation in the Dublin area of 47 seats, the major constituency changes in the Bill relate to Dublin. Apart from the establishment of a new constituency, the boundaries of existing constituencies are altered to varying degrees. More than 97,000 of the population are transferred from one constituency to another.
The following are the major features of the scheme in Dublin as identified by the commission. Communities in west Dublin are united in three constituencies, an arrangement which should be capable of ready adaptation to future population trends in the area. The central constituency reverts to representing the north inner city. The river Liffey is effectively used as a constituency boundary for most of its length in Dublin city and county. The use of the M50 as a constituency boundary is increased substantially. Outside Dublin minor territorial changes are proposed to ten constituencies. In pursuance of the statutory provision to avoid breaching county boundaries as far as practicable, the commission recommended no new breaches of county boundaries. The scheme of constituencies in the Bill, however, retains the existing breaches of counties Carlow, Clare, Tipperary South Riding and Waterford.
Under the 1997 Act the commission also had the task of reporting on European constituencies. The 1998 commission recommended no change in the present formation of the four European constituencies, and the Government accepted that recommendation. I am sure this will be of immediate interest to prospective candidates for the European Parliament elections to be held on Friday, 11 June next year. Local elections to all local authorities will be held on the same day. There are no constitutional provisions relating to the formation of European constituencies, but the commission's terms of reference require that there should be reasonable equality of representation as between constituencies. In addition, there is a statutory duty on the Minister, having considered the report of the constituency commission, to submit to the Oireachtas proposals for a review of European constituencies by 1 December 2003 at the latest and subsequently at least once every ten years.
The 1996 census showed the variances from national average representation in the four existing European constituencies ranged from — 10.4 per cent in the Leinster constituency to +9.44 per cent in the Dublin constituency. In its report, the commission indicated that most submissions made to it recommended no change in the existing constituencies. The commission examined alternative arrangements but concluded that "no reasonable redrawing of the constituencies would reduce the existing variances and result in coherent constituencies with which communities could identify".
I do not propose to comment in detail on the scheme of the Dáil constituencies proposed in the Bill. The commission provided a very full report, in several instances spelling out the different options in particular areas. Apart from what is contained in the report, no further information is available to me on the work or decision-making process of the commission. The commission's role is purely advisory. Under the Constitution ultimate responsibility rests with the Oireachtas. The practice of appointing an independent commission to advise on constituency revision has been universally welcomed and is now the accepted procedure. The scheme of constituencies in the Bill is the product of an agreed process operated in accordance with acceptable rules by an independent and impartial body.
In the Government's view, the commission's recommendations constitute a package which should be accepted in its entirety without change. The Bill proposes to implement the commission's recommendations in full and I commend it to the House.