Kenny: Reduce number of TDs by 20

The number of TDs should be reduced by 20, according to Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny who said he was “deeply concerned” about proposals in the Bord Snip report to cut social welfare payments by 5%.

Mr Kenny said the membership of the Dáil could be reduced from 166 to 142 based on present population figures, but said it would depend on the results of the 2011 census.

Speaking to reporters following a speech at the MacGill Summer School in Donegal, Mr Kenny did not give his views on proposals in the Bord Snip report to cut the dole and other welfare payments. “I’m not looking at that now at all,” he said.