Sir, – Ireland’s population has increased by almost 100,000 in the last year, according to the Central Statistics Office (News, August 28th).
One consequence of the continuous growth in population is that the number of TDs will increase even further. We will need four more just to cater for last year’s growth.
We are facing into a 14-seat increase in the next Dáil and, on current trends, we are going to have another 20 TDs after the 2027 census.
I, for one, can see no public benefit to having an ever-expanding chamber. New Zealand and Israel get by on 120 members. The Netherlands has 150. Why do we have to go on and on increasing the size of the Dáil just because the Constitution says so? Are we getting better representation just by having more TDs? Is legislation being more intensely scrutinised by the bigger population of TDs? I doubt it.
Every TD is hopelessly conflicted on this subject as it is in their own personal interest to have more seats. I propose that, in return for public acceptance of the additional 14 seats we are about to have after the general election, the body politic should agree that the next Oireachtas will give the people the option of deciding the question of whether to limit the size of our parliament to 174 seats or to continue to expand the number of seats indefinitely. – Yours, etc,
CIARAN O’MARA,
Booterstown,
Co Dublin.