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A FINE GAEL deputy wants to radically alter the way TDs are elected by creating smaller constituencies where just one Dáil representative is elected. Currently, that number stands at between three and five politicians.
Brendan Griffin’s proposed 34th Amendment of the Constitution (Dáil Éireann) Bill 2014 would give effect to a referendum to change the electoral system. It was introduced in the Dáil yesterday and could be debated in the coming months.
The change would mean that one TD is elected for one constituency under the alternative vote system. This is where voters rank candidates in order of preference – as is the case now – but only one is elected once they reach the quota.
Griffin believes this would eliminate ‘parish pump’ politics where TDs are too often focussed on constituency matters at the expense of their work as national legislators.
He said there is too much duplication in the work being done by TDs based in the same constituency and that some sitting deputies are afraid to delegate work to councillors who might be a threat to them in the future.
With the number of TDs in the next Dáil being reduced to 158 (including the Ceann Comhairle who is automatically re-elected), Griffin wants to change the system so the 157 TDs that are elected by the voters come from 157 constituencies.
He acknowledged that while a referendum will not happen before the next election, he wants to start the debate.
“People need to ask themselves: ‘What do I really want out of my parliamentarian? Do I want the guy who’ll do the potholes, who turns up at every funeral, or do I actually want someone who scrutinises legislation, who’ll contribute to policy, who’ll give ideas and try to bring those ideas to fruition,” the Kerry South TD told TheJournal.ie.
Griffin believes that constituencies could be divided up in a way similar to current local authority boundaries, citing the example of his home county of Kerry which currently has four electoral districts for the county council.
“Take a county like Kerry, it’s huge geographically and an enormous constituency to get around at the moment. It’s the same in Mayo and Galway East,” he explained.
“At the moment you have a constituency where you have a bit of Cavan, you have Sligo, a bit of Donegal and all of Leitrim – all in the one constituency. It makes no sense whatsoever.”
“In many areas [under the changes] you would have county boundaries being respected.”
A previous version of the bill proposed to reduce the number of TDs to 101 but Griffin said it was a case of “too much too soon” where 90 per cent of the debate focussed on the reduction in numbers.
“Really the main force driving the bill from my point of view was to change the system of election as distinct from the numbers,” Griffin said.
Ironically, Griffin is renowned for his local work and has three offices in his Kerry South constituency. He caused controversy in 2012 when it emerged he was giving half his salary to employ an extra teacher in a small primary school on the Dingle Peninsula.
Of his local work, he said: “If I didn’t do that I would lose my seat. As long as this is the system we have no alternative but to do that.”
The TD is also a member of the controversial Fine Gael five-a-side club of backbenchers who have called for greater political reform and deeper budget cuts. Griffin recently said he was close to leaving the party over the recent water charges controversy.
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Lets start the PR campaign for increased premiums for this year. Insurance industry do you job and stop moaning.
Every time there’s a natural disaster somewhere around the world we’re asked to dig into our pockets and help out. While I’m not comparing this to the loss of life or devastation of some of these disasters to this series of storms I can’t help wondering if anyone around the world will give a damn about us or put their hands in their pockets for our communites wiped out by these storms. I doubt it. We’ll be left to fend for ourselves and raise more levies to pay for the repairs. No happy endings here.
Despite our current troubles, we aren’t a third world country.
No children will starve because of this storm.
Your comparing apples and oranges.
Actually I stressed that I wasn’t trying to compare our current troubles, as you choose to describe them, to anyone else’s. What I said was that when others had disasters far worse than what we’re currently experiencing we have consistently put our hands in our pockets to help them out, I’m simply ask for a little quid pro quo.
This need not necessarily come from those third world countries you describe but, just as we helped other countries on the other side of the world, there are plenty of wealthy countries on the other side of the planet who we have helped out in the past when they weren’t so well off.
I bet they are rubbing their hands together saying what ever we spend we will triple it next year by raising rates
Presumably all these premium increases will be reversed once the profit margins reach previous levels.
I thought insurance companies didn’t cover damage by acts or nature or acts of God?!
Can they prove that god exists, that it was an act of god? Tot so
I’m covered so, as an athiest.
If they’re going to claim it’s an act of God, then prove God exists.
You prove he exists iv things to do today il give ye a hand tomorrow
They can’t make up the cost because their too busy making up increase in premiums first.
This will be covered by the wet storm and flood peril operative on all standard home insurance policies.
They’ll pull some excuse out of their holes not to pay out for damages. Insurance companies are nothing but thiefs.
Like “sorry but we don’t cover flood damage cos you…… Em live on a fookin island” or something. Storm damaged roof recently wasn’t covered and excuse given was bad workmanship when the house was built…… 12 years ago, if the workmanship was that bad surely one of the storms over the last 12 years would have exposed it.
What gets me is if you have a claim they increase your insurance on renewal,but if you have no claim during the term of your policy they don’t do likewise and decrease it,no it always goes up for some reason or another,then they take away flood cover,now this is like 50%,of your policy,now does your policy go down 50%,no it dissent,its time to tink outside the box on other ways of protecting your property like some kind of co,op and get rid of these insurance parasites.
The majority of affected properties damaged will not be covered for flooding due to the exclusions in their policies as all the areas are have flooded before and once their is a claim for flood in the area all properties in the area are designated as a flood area. So all they will pay for is a few slates
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