The purpose of the Bill is to fix the total number of Members of Dáil Éireann and to revise the constituencies in order to bring them into line with the provision of the constitution regarding equality of representation.
Under Article 16 of the Constitution a revision must be carried out at least once in every 12 years. Over the past 30 years a revision has in fact taken place after each census of population.
The census taken in 1986 showed major changes in population. 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 that average. This was particularly the case in Dublin. Taking extreme examples, the average number of persons per member in Dublin South-West was 26, 712 while in Dublin Central the average was 18, 346. These are the extreme examples but in other parts of the country the situation was far from satisfactory, for example, areas such as Kildare, Wicklow, Mayo and Roscommon.
Following the practice begun by the Fianna Fáil Government in 1977, an independent commission was set up on 4 May last to advise on the formation of constituencies. The terms of reference given to the commission were announced in the agreed "Programme for Government” and were identical with the terms given to the commission which reported in 1983 and which recommended the scheme of constituencies now in force. The terms were also very similar to those given to the first Dáil constituency commission which reported in 1980.
Of course, the commission is an advisory body only. The Constitution places the responsibility of revising the constituencies on the Oireachtas. While the commission may advise, the decisions and the responsibility are matters for the Oireachtas.
The members of the commission were Mr. Justice Liam Hamilton, President of the High Court, Dr. Kenneth Whitaker, former Governor of the Central Bank, Mr. Thomas Troy, Secretary of the Department of the Environment, Mr. Eamon Rayel, Clerk of the Dáil and Mr. Kieran Coughlan, then Clerk of the Seanad and now Clerk of the Lower House.
I am glad to have this opportunity to thank the members of the commission for the way in which they carried out the job given to them. Revising the constituencies is always a thankless job. No matter what arrangement of constituencies is recommended it is quite certain that somebody will be offended. Some sitting Deputy or intending candidate is bound to feel hard done by, that his chances of election or re-election have been made more difficulty by the new constituencies. I think the members of the commission have earned our thanks for the very fair and evenhanded way in which they did their job.
The members of the commission were, of course, entirely independent in carrying out the task given to them. They were constrained only by the Constitution and the terms of reference.
The commission reported at the end of July. The report was accepted by the Government and published and copies were given to each Member of the Oireachtas. The Bill proposes to implement in full the recommendations made in the commission's report.
A detailed explanatory memorandum has been circulated with the Bill. A set of maps illustrating the proposed new constituencies has been lodged in the Oireachtas Library. A set of maps to a smaller scale has been made available to each Member of the Oireachtas.
Section 2 of the Bill fixes the total number of Members of the Dáil at 166 which is the same as at present. The other sections are the normal provisions found in a constituency revision Bill. The proposed new constituencies are set out in the Schedule to the Bill. These constituencies will come into force on the next dissolution of the Dáil. Until then the present constituencies will continue in force, for example, for the purposes of by-elections. The total number of constituencies will remain at 41. The constituencies set out in the Schedule to the Bill are identical with those set out in the commission's report.
The scheme provides for 12 three-member constituencies, 15 four-member constituencies and 15 five-member constituencies. The new constituencies will involve breaching four county boundaries — those of counties Clare, Kildare, Galway and Waterford.
Sixteen of the constituencies are identical in area with an existing constituency. There are two entirely new constituencies — Longford-Roscommon and Westmeath. The remaining constituencies are subject to boundary changes, to one degree or another, and, in some cases, to changes in seat allocation.
In the Dublin area, there are boundary changes in every constituency with the single exception of Dublin South-West. Dublin Central, Dublin South-Central and Dublin West will each lose one seat and Dublin North and Dublin South-West will gain one seat each. The overall pattern of constituencies in Dublin will, however, remain very much as it is.
A small area of County Clare, containing part of Limerick city suburbs, will be included in the Limerick East constituency. There will be boundary adjustments between four of the five constituencies in Cork. A part of County Galway will be added to each of the two Mayo constituencies, but the part of the county at present contained in the constituency of Roscommon will be restored. Finally, an additional seat will be added to the Wicklow constituency which will be augmented by the addition of part of County Kildare.
Finally I would like to say "thank you" again to the members of the commission for the very competent and fair way they have carried out the difficult job given to them.
I hope Members will feel free to speak on the Bill. I would like to hear a debate on it and I fully appreciate that for Members of both Houses there will be inconvenience but the only thing I would say is that an election is years down the road.