SEANAD REPORT:IT WOULD be far better if there was a broad range of larger electoral constituencies because it was more in the spirit of proportional representation (PR), according to the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government.
John Gormley said the Constitution allowed for constituencies of up to seven seats for general elections, but the terms of reference of previous boundary commissions excluded the possibility of seven-seaters. He thought this constrained them. It meant reports had been got back from the commissions that many deputies found unhelpful.
An examination of constituencies in other PR countries would not show three-seaters. There was now a preponderance here of three-seat constituencies. "In relation to the actual terms of reference for the local elections, what we said was that in exceptional circumstances you put in three-seaters, but otherwise it's four to seven-seaters. I actually believe it's the best way forward too in relation to general elections."
Mr Gormley was speaking on a Green Party motion supporting the commitment in the programme for government to create an electoral commission.
He said a procurement process was under way in his department to commission a preliminary study around the "scoping" of the electoral commission project.
Those invited to tender had been advised that key elements to be included were: an overview of the present arrangements for electoral administration; an examination of relevant models of electoral commissions in other countries; identification, assessment and ranking of options for an electoral commission including scoping of structure, functions and relationships with other bodies involved in electoral policy and administration; and recommendations concerning approaches to the modernisation and consolidation of legislation in the context of the establishment of an electoral commission.