A chara, – Frank Walsh (Letters, April 18th) considered the size of the Oireachtas relative to other parliaments. His calculation included the total seats in parliaments as a whole, "bicameral included". However, we should not conflate the numbers in a house of representatives such as the Dáil, and those in second chambers, which are selected or elected by different means in different countries for different purposes. While the public chose to retain the Seanad in 2013, the set number of 60 senators cannot be a substitute for the representatives of the people as a whole in the Dáil, and should not be considered in offsetting the number of TDs.
Two countries in Mr Walsh’s sample have unicameral parliaments and are therefore better comparators when comparing representative chambers: in Norway, the single-chamber Storting has 169 members representing a population of 5.5 million; in Denmark, the single-chamber Folketing has 179 members representing a population of 5.9 million. These countries with a population just above the projected population of Ireland in this year’s census have parliaments within the range of 169 to 179 TDs proposed for the Dáil. As the range will be set in the Electoral Reform Bill for further population increases, the size of the Dáil will fit favourably with these Nordic comparators. – Is mise,
WILLIAM QUILL,
Dublin 8.