Four in five TDS ‘would allow party dictate how to vote’

FOUR in five TDs would toe the party line in a Dáil vote even if they fundamentally disagreed with the stance the party was taking, a new survey has found.

It also showed that one in seven TDs believed they should primarily represent the people who voted for them rather than all of their constituents. The findings are contained in a survey of Oireachtas members carried out by the cross-party Committee on the Constitution.

Of the 165 TDs, just 75 – or less than half – responded to the survey, which analysed their representative role and workload and sought their views on the electoral system. The survey found TDs spend on average 53% of their time on constituency-based work, 38% on legislative work and 9% on other activities such as party, media or charity work. It found 57% of TDs favour retaining the current electoral system.