Reports in national media have revealed some details of the census report due out later this week. According to newspapers Dublin West has increased in population from about 73,000 to over 90,000, an increase of close to 25%, by far the largest increase of any part of Ireland.

Dublin West watchers will not be surprised at the outcome of the census. It has been plain for years that a huge surge was underway due to the construction boom in the area and the influx of new families, both Irish and international.

There are immediate consequences to this outcome. One is political as it may cause a revision of the constituency boundaries before the 2007 election. The population of Dublin West is in breach of the limits set by the constitution on two grounds. The first is that the ratio of population to TD must not be greater than one TD per 30,000. Secondly the ratio must be broadly uniform all over the country and this is clearly not the case by comparing Dublin West with many other constituencies.

The Government should consult all parties to find a way out of this situation before the election. It should be an independent decision without party political considerations.

Of more importance is the question of resources. Many Government Departments have not yet woken up to the reality of life on the ground in Dublin West. Our schools, primary and secondary, are overcrowded. Our Hospital cannot meet the demands placed on it by the size of the increase and needs urgent additional investment to complete Phase 2 in full. The bus and rail services are woefully inadequate to meet the demand and plans for expansion are way too little, much too late. The number of Gardai on duty at any time is much smaller than in any provincial city of similar population such as Limerick or Galway.

Dublin West needs a Task Force to co ordinate all the different plans and to accelerate their delivery. I suggest the appointment of a Special Commissioner for a 5 year period to oversee this and get results in a timescale that reflects the real situation that faces our communities and shown up so dramatically in the census report.