Tairgim leasú Uimh. 1:—
I leathanach 7, líne 17, "as comhaltas Dháil Éireann" a scriosadh, agus i línte 18 agus 19 "as comhaltas Dháil Éireann" a scriosadh;
agus
I leathanach 11, líne 22, "from the members of Dáil Éireann" a scriosadh, agus i línte 23 agus 24 "from the members of Dáil Éireann" a scriosadh.
I move amendment No. 1:—
In page 6, line 17, to delete "as comhaltas Dháil Éireann", and in lines 18 and 19 to delete "as comhaltas Dháil Éireann";
and
In page 10, line 22, to delete "from the members of Dáil Éireann", and in lines 23 and 24 to delete "from the members of Dáil Éireann".
The purpose of this amendment is, briefly, to provide that the members of the proposed Constituency Commission would not be drawn from amongst the members of Dáil Éireann. I agree with the proposal to set up a commission. If the proposal to amend the Constitution and provide for single seat constituencies with the single non-transferable vote is accepted as a result of a referendum, it will require, in my opinion, a new commission— independent, competent and impartial —to determine the new constituencies. I do not believe that a commission such as is suggested in this Bill can be regarded as independent, in view of its composition. I doubt if it would be regarded as the most competent body that could be set up; and I further doubt if its report or findings would be regarded either by the Dáil or by the public subsequently as impartial.
Under the proposal set out in this Bill, the commission will be formed of seven members. The only member who will not be a member of Dáil Éireann will be the chairman, who will be nominated by the Taoiseach and who will be a judge of the High Court. Three members will be nominated by the Taoiseach, presumably from the members of his own Party in the Dáil; and three members by the Chairman of Dáil Éireann from the "Members of Dáil Éireann who are determined by him to be in opposition and on a basis and in a manner determined by him." Apart altogether from the difficulty of determining who is in opposition, I suggest that the Ceann Comhairle will have considerable difficulty in nominating three members to this commission from amongst the members of this House who are not members of the Government Party. I feel that a commission so composed will automatically be regarded as a political body.
I might say that I do not share the opinions expressed on the Committee Stage last week, that a person who has political affiliations is necessarily either incompetent or impartial only to a degree. Everybody who thinks at all has some political affiliations or views, whether or not he is a member of Dáil Éireann. This commission will be composed entirely of members of Dáil Éireann, with the exception of the chairman. Therefore, it must be regarded as a completely, or almost completely, politically nominated commission.
It is very difficult to believe that such a commission would not be divided in its deliberations. On the Committee Stage, some examples were given of instances which might occur, where two Deputies in the same constituency or in the same county to be divided, might seek to use their influence to have the new constituency determined in a manner to suit one or the other. If the six members of this proposed commission happened to be from six different counties—which is not an exaggerated possibility—they would personally be interested and open to influence from quite a substantial body of the electorate in this State.
The report of such a commission, if it produced a unanimous report— which I regard as unlikely—would be open to the suggestion that it was not impartial and it would be received by the Dáil and most certainly by the public in a hostile way.
As the Taoiseach himself pointed out during the course of his contribution on the Committee Stage, the drawing up of the new constituencies is a task which must be undertaken by competent people. I think it is possible to set up such a commission in accordance with the views of the Taoiseach, but I suggest that to do so it would be necessary to go outside the confines of this House. Personally, I would like to see the commission set up completely outside the confines of this House. I would like to see such people represented on it as the Director of the Central Statistics Office. I should like to see somebody from the Ordnance Survey Office on it and a representative from the universities, such as a professor of history or geography, together with, possibly, somebody from the Army and Garda, or possibly retired members of one or other of these forces who would have the necessary qualifications for the important task with which this commission is charged.
The report of such a commission would be accepted by the House and by the people whether or not they agreed with the proposal to abolish P.R. and the single transferable vote. The public would look upon the commission as independent, impartial and the most competent body that could be got together. They would expect its findings would be disinterested and given in the best interests of the country and that the members would carry out their task to the best of their ability.
As I say, apart altogether from the merit of abolishing P.R., the finding of such a commission would be accepted. That, in itself, would be one of the necessary prerequisites to the operation of the single seat, non-transferable vote system. When speaking on the Second Stage of the Bill, I mentioned that one of the essential prerequisites to the functioning of the new system is that the constituency boundaries must be drawn up in an independent, impartial and competent manner. The suggestion to set up a commission as outlined in the Bill cannot, of its very nature, be either independent, impartial and may well be incompetent. Therefore, I would urge the Taoiseach to accept the suggestion I have made here, which is to provide for the recruitment of the members of this commission from outside Dáil Éireann. My view is that all the members should be drawn from outside this House. It it possible there may be different opinions on that, but certainly a majority should not be members of the House. It would be a better, more competent and certainly more independent body if it could be recruited along the lines my amendment suggests.