Noel Grealish (Galway West, Independent)

Over the past number of years, the Government has put several referendums to the people, mostly recently and notably the 39th and 40th amendments that were defeated earlier this year. The latest referendums were badly thought out and impossible to clearly explain. The resounding "No" vote made it clear that the people are not prepared to alter the Constitution without good reason. A proposal to cap the number of TDs, bringing Ireland's Parliament into line with other EU countries, is a question that the people should have the opportunity to decide. It is something that should be explored further by the Electoral Commission. I ask the Minister to give a commitment to at least explore this matter further. It is a question that should be put to the people. If we are going to see our Parliament grow up to 240 Members by 2050, that is going to put a huge strain on the Oireachtas. This Chamber will become redundant. We could be talking about hundreds of millions of euro to build a new Chamber and to provide support staff. It is important that we have a debate on this in the new Dáil. If I am elected, I will keep pushing it. If not, maybe somebody else will but the question should be put to the people in a referendum. Let the people decide how many Members should be in this House, not us in this House.

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