Dempsey's calls for electoral reform raise instant suspicion from Opposition

It is 90 years since the first election was held in this State using the distinctive form of proportional representation which the Minister for the Environment, Mr Dempsey, wants to abolish. In January 1919 the voters in Sligo elected the members of the town's corporation under PR by means of a single transferable vote (PR-STV).

The Minister not only favours replacing this proportional multi-seat electoral system for Dail elections, but also wants to reduce the number of deputies from 166 to between 110 and 120. The Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, has thrown his weight behind the idea, calling for fewer TDs, who would receive higher salaries. Mr McCreevy is supporting an increase in the basic annual salary of a TD from £38,000 to about £50,000.

Whatever about salaries, by international standards Ireland has a high number of parliamentary members. Both Belgium and the Netherlands, with populations of 10 million and 15 million respectively, have fewer members of parliament than Ireland.

The number of Dail deputies is determined by law, although the Constitution specifies that the total number of TDs shall not be fixed at fewer than one member for each 30,000 of the population, or at more than one member for each 20,000 of the population.

A change in the electoral system and a reduction in the number of TDs do not have to go together, as suggested by Mr Dempsey. While any alteration to the electoral system would require a referendum, the number of TDs could be reduced from 166 through legislation. By applying the 30,000 people per TD level to all Dail constituencies, the number of TDs would automatically come down to below 120.

Calling for a reduction in the number of Dail deputies has a populist ring to it which may explain why, by favouring only 100 TDs, Mr McCreevy would like to see even fewer TDs than proposed in the Dempsey plan.

In framing the 1937 Constitution Eamon de Valera chose to give PRSTV formal constitutional recognition. At that time Fine Gael's preference was to leave the detail of the electoral system to ordinary legislation - a situation, ironically, which had it prevailed would have made subsequent attempts at change much easier.

Noel Dempsey is not the first Fianna Fail politician to seek to change this electoral system. Twice Fianna Fail has tried and failed. In 1959 the party sought to replace it with a first-past-the-post system, similar to that in Britain. The margin of defeat was only 33,667 votes, which may explain why the same proposal was put to a referendum again only nine years later. But once more, in 1968, the electorate took its lead from Fine Gael and Labour in rejecting the Fianna Fail plan.

Three decades later the same parties are lined up against Noel Dempsey's proposals, which would be based on single-seat constituencies elected by a combination of proportional representation and a list system. One deputy would be elected for each Dail constituency, with the remaining TDs returned from a national list of candidates published by each party prior to a general election. The list element to the system would ensure each party had the number of TDs proportional to its share of the national vote.

A recent study by Prof Michael Laver of Trinity College, Dublin, observed that such a system, giving list seats to parties winning above 2 per cent of the first-preference vote, would produce a parliament with a membership composition almost identical to that of the present Dail.

Noel Dempsey says his proposed changes would assist in reducing the culture of clientilist politics, where Dail deputies from Taoiseach to backbencher are beholden to constituents for a vast array of administrative functions.

With single-seat constituencies, Mr Dempsey argues, time-consuming competition between TDs engaged in constituency business would be lessened. They could concentrate on their role as legislators.

However, the opposition parties are not biting. Alan Dukes of Fine Gael says his party is adopting the approach "it ain't broke - so don't fix it". He argues that Mr Dempsey is "naive if he thinks his ideas are going to liberate TDs and reduce their constituency work".

UCD academic Richard Sinnott noted that "those who wish to reduce the brokerage burden and foster a legislative role for TDs would have to make many changes to the government system in addition to changing the electoral system".

Such changes would involve improving the provision of State services, simplification of regulations relating to benefits and other entitlements and a genuine devolution of power to local government.

There is deep suspicion among the opposition parties that the motivation driving the proposals is a desire to strengthen Fianna Fail's electoral position. In moving away from the multi-seat constituencies, the opposition parties argue, Fianna Fail is seeking to frame a new system that would favour larger parties.

Labour has decided not to make any formal response until it "sees something on paper from Noel Dempsey". One party source claimed the Minister was merely throwing out ideas without firm plans for implementing them, "like his plans for elected mayors and a radical overhaul of the local government system, which so far we've seen nothing on".

The Green Party TD, John Gormley, says his party is "very interested in the proposals". However, the Greens want any changes to "protect the interests of smaller parties".

Mr Dempsey says his ideas are personal, but Fianna Fail and Progressive Democrat sources favour change. In 1991, when the two parties were reviewing the policy programme of their first coalition government, Fianna Fail raised the issue of changing the system.

Then the preference was for a German-style arrangement with single-seat constituencies combined with a list system. The number of TDs was to be kept at 166. However, until Mr Dempsey raised the issue, changing the electoral system did not seem to be on the agenda of the current Fianna Fail-PD coalition.

There is no reference to electoral reform in their programme for government. The PDs are understood not to be pushing for the inclusion of electoral reform in the review of the current programme for government. A PD source said they were unsure whether the proposals from Mr Dempsey and Mr McCreevy "had the support of the Taoiseach".

Unless Bertie Ahern gives the idea his backing then, as one Labour source put it, "the proposals amount to mere Fianna Fail kite-flying".