Vol. 483 No. 3
30 Mr. Dukes asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government whether he has carried out a review of the operation of the electoral system; if so, the defects, if any, he has identified in this regard; if so, his views on the remedies, if any, which should be proposed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20339/97]
I have not carried out a review of the system. I have appointed Deputy Molloy, Minister of State at my Department, to head such a review. The Government programme, An Action Programme for the Millennium, contains a commitment to review the electoral system. The purpose of the review is to initiate an informed debate on the system of election which is appropriate to modern circumstances. The process for this review is being considered. The electoral system has been in place for over 70 years and it is proper that it should now be the subject of a thorough examination and an informed public debate. There are changes in the system which I would favour but it will be a matter for the review process to analyse all the possible options.
Can we take it that all the Minister's various statements since the election, and for some time before it, have been nothing more than an exercise in kite flying? Will the Minister indicate whether there are any particular terms of reference for the review — to head which he has appointed the Minister of State, Deputy Molloy — if so, in what direction it is heading, or is it simply another gabfest of Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats to divert attention from their inactivity?
It is not an exercise in kite flying. I have strong views on the electoral system and changes to it and have made them known in Opposition and quite recently. We should have an informed public debate on the matter. We are considering a number of options as to how that review might be undertaken. Anybody who closes their eyes to the need for a review of the electoral system is not doing a service to politics or the body politic. I am sure the Minister of State, Deputy Molloy, will be interested in views from Opposition parties in relation to this matter but we can approach it in a number of different ways. For example, we could commission a report by consultants, the Department could prepare a Green Paper, we could establish a committee of experts to prepare a report or it could be referred to the all-party committee on the Constitution. There are a number of options to start the debate but the bottom line, so far as I am concerned, is that it is time to have an informed debate, not a debate about the 1950s, 1960s and so on. We have to look at the options, the electoral system and a number of the other institutions of State to ensure they are geared for the new millennium.
I would like to understand the Minister. Contrary to the impression he has given up to this, he now says he has not carried out a review. He talked about putting the Minister of State, Deputy Molloy, in charge of a review and speaks about examining options as to how to undertake a review. We are going from flannel to cotton wool into the clouds.
It is just as well.
Is it true the Minister has no mandate from the Government to carry out any review, he has no idea of what the Government might want to do in terms of a review and has no plan as to how any such review might be carried out? Can I and all the others who pay attention to these matters take it the Minister has absolutely no idea whether he wants to do anything about the electoral system?
It is a solo run.
The answer to that question is similar to that given to Deputy Dukes previously——
The answer is yes.
There are a lot of solo runs.
——that he can surmise anything he wishes. I cannot prevent him from getting fanciful notions about what might or what might not be happening in Government.
The Minister is encouraging me.
The Deputy is incorrect when he states we have no mandate, no review, no plan or anything else. We are in the process of undertaking the review. The Minister of State, Deputy Molloy, has been appointed to head such a review and is looking at the various options with a view to reviewing the electoral system.
Is the Minister in a position to outline the terms of reference, the mandate or the instructions being given to the Minister of State, Deputy Molloy, to carry out this phantasmagoric review? Otherwise there is no review.
The Deputy should read the programme for Government again.
As the time for priority questions has exhausted Questions Nos. 31 and 32 may be taken in ordinary time.
