Madam, - I laughed out loud when I heard the Labour TD Brendan Howlin saying on The News at One that the Dáil is under-resourced.
Ireland has a population of four million and 166 TDs. The UK, with a population of 60 million, has approximately 650 MPs. If we had the same proportion of members of parliament as our nearest neighbour, i.e. 1 : 92,000, we would have precisely 43 TDs.
Some people would consider that too many. Earlier this year, in the run-up to the elections in India, I recall reading in The Irish Times that if we had the same proportion of members of parliament here as they have in the sub-continent, we would have exactly two TDs. Can you imagine the scintillating exchanges in the Dáil between the Member for Leinster and the Member for the Rest of Ireland? - Yours, etc.,
JOE PATTON,
Hillcrest Walk,
Lucan,
Co Dublin.