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AN INDEPENDENT TD has called for a referendum to be held on placing a cap on the number of TDs in Leinster House.
Noel Grealish yesterday told the Dáil that the number of TDs could grow to 240 by 2050 due to population growth.
There are currently 160 TDs and this will increase to 174 after the next General Election.
According to the Constitution, there must be an average of one TD to represent every 20,000 to 30,000 people in the country.
Grealish told the Dáil yesterday that the ESRI forecasts that by 2040, Ireland’s population will have grown by 900,000.
Meanwhile, the CSO’s highest population increase scenario would put Ireland’s population at more than 7 million in 2057.
“That would mean that the number of TDs in this House would have to increase from the current total of 160 to almost 240,” said Grealish.
He said the Chamber “would not be able to accommodate that number of Dáil Deputies” and that a new Chamber would have to be built.
Grealish also said this would cost “hundreds of millions of euro” due to the need to provide additional offices and funding “associated parliamentary and support staff for each elected Member”.
Grealish also pointed to recent remarks from Senator Michael McDowell, who said the number of MPs in the UK Parliament would increase from 650 to 2,400 if it used the same criteria as Ireland.
He also noted that Italy held a referendum in 2020 that resulted in a reduction in the number of elected politicians – 70% of people voted in favour of this.
Grealish said that he would leave it to the Electoral Commission to determine what the number of TDs should be capped at.
He told Minister Paschal Donohoe: “Will the Minister, his party and their partners in Government agree to ask the Electoral Commission to look into the idea of placing a cap on the number of TDs and putting this to a referendum?”
Donohoe replied that the Electoral Commission has “already indicated a willingness to consider” the issue and that it wants a “national conversation” on “whether Dáil Éireann should continue to grow to match the increase in population”.
He added that it is “important not to lose sight of something that is very positive” and that there “more people living here who deserve and require more representation”.
Donohoe said he “would be reluctant to put any cap” on TD numbers “at the moment” and added: “If that is something we have to contend with as a consequence of our country continuing to grow, then that is a good thing.”
“I would not like to see unlimited growth but on the other hand,” said Donohoe, “the level of representation that we have within our country at the moment does broadly work and I would not like to see any sudden change in that regard.”
However, Grealish replied that a proposal to cap the number of TDs to “bring Ireland’s Parliament into line with other EU countries is a question that the Irish people should have the opportunity to decide”.
“This Chamber here will become redundant,” said Grealish.
“Let the people decide how many Members should be in this House, not Members themselves.”
Donohoe ended the exchange by stating that he is “sure” that the Electoral Commission “plans to publish a paper or to publish some interventions in relation to this in the time ahead”.
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My dad is 15 years older than my mum and they are married over 25 years now, so it does work for some people
I agree. My husband is 20 years older than me. We’ve been together for 12 years and have never been happier. Yes, there are difficulties, but overcoming them make us much closer. We have much more in common than not. After 12 years I can still truly say I’ve met the man of my dreams.
I’m a bit confused Damien surely you meant to say your wife??
It’s real easy to overlook age if she is really hot or he is really rich…
You certainly are confused, it’s not that difficult!
Could be a gay couple?
Francey, Damien’s avatar is an equality symbol – he and his husband are in a same-sex marriage. Damien, much happiness to you both, and to everyone who has found happiness in a long-term relationship.
I broke up with my partner of 5 years yesterday, she was 10 years older than me, the age difference was a much bigger issue for her. She was always paranoid that I would meet someone younger and she couldn’t compete.
Aww poor you :(
Thanks Lorraine but its not as major event a break up usually is, been on the cards for awhile.
Never easy though Peasant; so chin up.
Thanks Peter
Aww sorry xx it’s not easy though hope your ok ,,, I’m older than mine same years but with him 10years,,, if ya put issues in relationship that aren’t there it just makes problems….
This is ridiculous. It’s just as valid to say “The difference between someone aged 35 and another aged 35 can be huge.”
It is? I would say ‘the similarities between two 35 year olds can be huge too’ is also just as valid.
That is true. As is saying “the similarities between a 35 year old and a 45 year old can be huge too”. Age can matter, but then so can any feature of a person when it comes to beginning and continuing a relationship. When I said it was ridiculous, I was referring to the entire article.
I was referring to your typo
My typo? I don’t believe I made one. I was just saying that people of the same age can be vastly different as well.
Didn’t work out too well for Mr Clifford, Mr Harris and Co. Sometimes the age gap can be far too much.
ah, my mistake, apologies
@ Veruca Salt
Oh dear. That is an entirely different issue completely. This article is only talking about consensual relationships. Not sex pests and pervs.
Also, despite accusations, and despite opinions, everyone is innocent until proven guilty.
The older the cougar, the wider the GAP…….
So true ;)
And the older the sugar daddy the bigger the wallet… cue more generalisations about older partners of either gender
It’s a bit of Craic , not worth taking it to heart.
P.s. old crack….
No age doesn’t matter. My boyfriend is 8 years younger and is more mature that my previous ex who was the same age as me. We are together 4 years now. I’m 35.
Apparently not if you were a male British tv personality in the 70′s/80′s..
My partner is 18 years younger than me. … works so far. .. sometimes older people like younger and visa versa…. not without problems but most relationships have problems
Mostly older people liking younger I would think.
visa versa is right – more likely the visa card she was after…
Not really. …. my partner runs a successful business and has much more money than me. ….
I think attitude and maturity has a much greater bearing on the success and failure of relationships rather than actual age. You can meet very mature and stable 20 year olds and 50 year olds who could never grow up and make a relationship work.
I know couples who have a 10 , 15 and even 20 plus age difference but it works for them because they are on the same wavelength.
Horse pucky! My other half has 13 years on me and it’s been going swimmingly for years. The key to a successful relationship is to have similar wants / goals in life , enough of your own freedom that you don’t morph into the same person, enough differences to maintain lively interaction with each other and something of yourself and enough similarities that you don’t alienate each other.
It definitely matters. How many couples do you know with even over 10 years age difference? In most cases it simply does not work.
Know one actually – parents! If its not working for them they’re either good at hiding it or the sex more than makes up for it!
Off to counselling I go now. :(
I have been with my wife for over 40 years. She is twelve years older than me.
Was that an arranged marriage…
Same – twelve years between my parents, happily married for 40 years. Bear in mind tony moores last article blamed women for male suicide rates saying it was due to women hassling men about shopping and fabrics. I would pay not to get relationship advice from him!
No it was not. She kept her vows: to love, honour and obey.
I’m 47 and have an 18 year old girlfriend. Works for me.
Celebrated an anniversary John?
John,
That’s borderline child abuse
Yeah, and driving 79 in an 80 zone is borderline speeding. What’s your point?
Thata boy John no bother to ya!!!!!!!
Of course it works for you it’s her I’m worried about, I can guarantee you she’s either missing a father in her life (dead/absent) and she’s desperately searching for that father figure, a male to give her praise and attention. I’m sorry but it doesn’t sit right with me poor girl
Yeah John bit creepy…father figure I would think.
Creepy and untrue I think.
John,
My point is that if what you say is true, and I don’t believe for one second that it is, then you are no better than a peadophile you disgusting little old man.
I think a simple rule should be followed and you’ll be grand….. divide your age by two, add seven and never go below that.
My boyfriend was 20 years older than me but it didn’t work out because he became jealous of the guys I work with and wanted me to find a new job. Instead I found a new man…. From my office!! We are similar age and going out for 2 years now :) saying that my dad was 11 years older than my mum and they are still together after 32 years so basically I don’t know the definitive answer!! :)
Barry?
So……he was right to be concerned ?
Not the same Lisa :) haha no my mans name is Tommy :)
I hear you Lisa, its really difficult to deal with constant jealousy and suspicion. There is nothing more exhausting than having to persistently reassure someone. It kills the affection.
That’s true peasant!
Ooops, sorry Lisa.
@Lisa So he was jealous of guys in the office and them you ended up with one. Seems fairly justified to be honest :)
*Then
I am 26 and regularly date 40+ women, the girls my age just seem so immature, older women don’t play mind games
I think people are being a little unfair in relation to this article. The man speaks of his experience in dealing with relationships were not ‘happy ever after’. For every successful May/December romance I have no doubt that there are others which just didn’t work. I can say that, no matter how much I try to kid myself, I am not who I was at 20, and I suppose this is right. Life is change, we cannot remain static. I happen to be the may end of a may/December romance which has subsisted for many years. However, I can say that longevity is not everything, and the reality is that we are two very different people from who we were when we embarked on the adventure of life together.
That would probably be the same if you were December and she were May.
Age is only a number. It only matters if you let it matter.
It always irritates me when media folk describe a girl/ lady, in their 20′s and 30′s as a ‘cougar’ if they are dating a younger man.
For flip’s sake, a cougar has to be in their 40′s or more to be called a cougar. Just because someone knows the word, does not mean it is always applicable.
Sorry, rant over
That said, no, I don’t believe age does matter. One can find someone with immense maturity in their teens and someone with immense immaturity in their 20s or 30s. And the ideal person one had in their mind, could be the complete opposite of the person they fall in love with. May very well be the complete opposite gender too. (Hey, it happens.)
When guy is 10 or 20 years older and minted it always works.
When guy is 10 or 20 years older and poor it usually does not work.
When woman is 10 or 20 years older and minted it usually does not work.
When woman is 10 or 20 years older and poor – I’m surprised this even started – must be true love perhaps.
That’s reality folks I know there are some exceptions… But…
I kind of think that people were made to have at least 2 different partners as their lives progress, I base this purely on the typical sex-drive changes in both sexes. Womens’ sex drives tend to peak in their 30s-50s, this is exactly the time mens’ start to wane. Women of this age are more suited (sex drive wise) to younger men of about 18-30 or so. Similarly, mens’ sex drives lessen when they start hitting middle age and are more aligned with younger womens’. Of course this is a generalisation as these changes dont happen to everyone at the same age, but its funny how the sex drives tend to line up.
One rubs off the other…
Just to throw my two pence in my partner and I are together for nearly 5 years with an age gap of 17 years.
When it comes to keeping fit and socializing we can sometimes clash but we make it work and we are very happy together.
What upsets me is that people assume my partner is my sugar daddy. Money is sparse between us and doesn’t enter the equation.
Its only a problem if you pay attention to the immature sn*ggering of some idiots. A far bigger problem is money. If one partner has a much larger income than the other it usually ends in disaster. This is why I date younger women, I literally can’t afford to date women my age.
Note to journal: your language filter needs to be fixed, I cant use the word sn*ggering
The older man/ younger woman scenario seems to last longer, in general, than the other way round.
Women are more conscious than men about their looks when they are older, so this may cause friction.
One reason that scenario appears to work better is because this is a patriarchal society and the younger woman/older man model fits better into a patriarchal society.
I wonder if age gaps are such a big deal between same-sex couples.
Age is all about mind over matter: If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter!
No, it doesn’t matter
A cougar is for life, your more than a number in her little red book……
As every teenager will point out you use a formula to work out how young you can go. Half your age plus seven years :L
Yep it matters
Those in them type of relationships will disagree but age is there for a reason
To show maturity and 70 v 50 in life
Huge difference
20 year gap when the older person passes away
It most definitely does. You can’t put a young head on old shoulders, but then again it’s a lot to do with maturity.
Very interesting !!
I always thought age mattered..we do have big difference in how we look at the world.
If she looks like demi moore than no
I am 39 & my wife is 29. We are together 9 years, married 5 years.
I had to grow up before I could appreciate her. The gap between us is our daughter & son when they climb in our bed!
Personally I think in twenties or thirties it’s good if both are close in age – as people get older the age gap matters less.
I think age is only a number
So how about If the girl is 21 and the guy is 18?
have your say