[Article] Several constituencies to have boundaries redrawn

DMC

http://home.eircom.net/content/irelandcom/topstories/2301464?view=Eircomnet

Several constituencies to have boundaries redrawn

From:ireland.com
Tuesday, 6th January, 2004

Several constituencies in Dublin and the surrounding commuter belt are likely to be changed significantly after the report of the Constituency Commission is published tomorrow, writes Mark Brennock, Chief Political Correspondent.

Dublin West and Mid-West, Meath, Kildare North and Westmeath are believed to be among the constituencies that will be altered to reflect the major population growth in the capital's western suburbs and surrounding counties.

Sitting and aspiring TDs are anxiously awaiting tomorrow's publication of the report of the Constituency Commission whose findings are invariably passed into law.

The commission will recommend a revision of Dáil constituency boundaries and the number of seats per constituency to take into account population changes revealed in the most recent census report of 2002. The report will pay particular attention to the census findings that Dublin West, Dublin Mid-West, Kildare and Meath have too few TDs, and that Cork city and county and parts of Dublin's northside have too many.

While the independent commission has kept its conclusions secret, it is expected in political circles that Dublin West and Dublin Mid-West, which are severely under-represented with three seats each, may get proportionally increased representation. This could be done through simply increasing the number of TDs per constituency, or moving the constituency boundaries to reduce the population in each. There is also strong speculation that the five-seat Meath constituency, whose population warrants an extra seat, may be split, with part of it attached to neighbouring Co Westmeath.

The adjacent three-seat North Kildare constituency also merits an extra seat, so a significant redrawing of the boundaries between west Dublin, Kildare, Meath and Westmeath cannot be ruled out.

The commission is to leave the number of Dáil seats unchanged at 166, meaning that some constituencies will either lose seats, or be increased in size. Cork city and county is seen as vulnerable to losing a seat or more, while it is not known whether Dublin North-West and North-Central, both of which have more seats per head of population than the national average, will be affected.

The census showed that while there is an average population of 23,598 per TD, there are substantial variations. The most substantially under-represented constituency in the State is Kildare North with one deputy for every 28,491 people. Dublin West has 27,425 people per TD, Dublin Mid-West has 27,245 and Meath has 26,811. Those over-represented include Dublin North-West, with just 20,792 people per deputy, Sligo-Leitrim, with 21,000, and Dublin North-Central, with 21,085.

The Constitution prescribes that the ratio between the number of TDs and the population should "so far as it is practicable, be the same throughout the country".

I can just see the returning officer say... "and here are the results of the first count for the West Meath Meath West consituency..."

As a North Meath man, it will be interesting to see where they they actually draw the line. If they join up with Westmeath in a 5 seater, I can see Kells, Oldcastle and Athboy joining up with Multifarnham.... I thought it would be two 3 seat consitiuncies for Meath, the only dificulty would be where to divide the county. And we'd take a seat from the Cork boyos too.

I'm looking forward to this report...

DMC

Huge changes announced....

Constituencies increase is recommended

http://www.rte.ie/news/2004/0107/boundary.html

January 7, 2004

(16:46) The Constituency Commission has recommended an increase in the number of Dáil constituencies from 42 to 43 but is keeping the existing number of TDs at 166.

There are to be extra seats for Kildare North and Dublin Mid-West, which are currently three-seaters. Co Meath is splitting into Meath East and Meath West, which takes in part of Westmeath, each with three seats.

There is to be a reduction of a seat each in Cork North-Central, which is currently a five-seater, and the four-seat Dublin North-Central constituency.

A new constituency configuration across the North Midlands will split Co Leitrim. New constituencies will be Sligo/North Leitrim and Roscommon/South Leitrim both three-seaters.

There will be a new constituency of Longford/Westmeath.

There will also be widespread boundary adjustments. For instance, ten of the 12 Dublin constituencies will see changes.

The review was established last year following the census results which showed an imbalance between the number of TDs and the population in a number of Dáil constituencies.

Around Dublin this was largely due to the growth of towns in Meath and Kildare as people moved out of the capital.

Meanwhile, constituencies in the north of the city had seen their population decline, reflecting increasing numbers of so-called 'empty nesters' - older people whose family has moved on.

The full report is to be published on the Commission's website

capistrano

In general the changes are good. There are fewer 5-seaters and one more constituency overall.

Hopefully this means that the changes of off-the-wall independents getting elected will be smaller. National politicians should be concerned with the national interest but most of these independents are only concerned with the parochial interest. We all remember how the independents held the last government to ransom.

DMC

It will be interesting to see where Donie Cassidy goes to, as a lot of his votes have been taken to the new Meath West constituency. Votes from around Delvin and Castlepollard are lost from him... hmmm.

I must also see a map to see where exactly the splits in Meath and Westmeath and Leitrim will be. (I hope the constituency commissions website updates soon!)

mike65

Just listening to Batt O'keefe lamenting his lot in Cork South or South Central (?) half his votes gone west. The multi-seat system really should be knocked on the head.

Mike.

daveirl

This post has been deleted.

mike65

Ideally the whole country should be one 100 and whatever seat constituency

Not sure what that means Daveirl, my idea would be more constituencies but with a single seat I'd say for 4 million 100 seats would be quite enough.

Mike.

DMC

Well, I'm stumped.

Meath East contains everything east of Navan Ashbourne, Duleek, Dunboyne, Dunshaughlin, Clonee, Laytown, Slane, plus most of north Co. Meath including Nobber and possibly Moynalty.

Meath West contains Navan, Trim and Kells, to Westmeath as far as Castlepollard (Donie-land)

I'm not quite sure which constituency I'm in!!

Victor

Similar to above

http://home.eircom.net/content/irelandcom/breaking/2310132?view=Eircomnet

Commission recommends increase in constituencies
From:ireland.com
Wednesday, 7th January, 2004

The Constituency Commission has recommended an increase in the number of Dáil constituencies but says that the number of TDs should remain at 166.

As expected, the Commission in its report on Dáil constituencies to the Ceann Comhairle, Dr Rory O'Hanlon, also recommended extra seats for the three-seat constituencies of Dublin Mid-West and Kildare North following the 2002 census which showed those constituencies had too few TDs.

The five-seat Meath constituency, whose population warrants an extra seat, is to be split into two, thus, bringing up the number of constituencies from 42 to 43.

The two new constituencies are Meath-East and Meath-West, part of which will contain neighbouring Co Westmeath. Both constituencies will have three seats each.

There will also be a new constituency configuration in the North Connacht and North Leinster areas.

The four-seat Sligo-Leitrim will become the three-seat Sligo-North-Leitrim, while, the four-seat Longford-Roscommon will become the three-seat Roscommon-South-Leitrim.

As part of the old constituency of Westmeath is recommended to become part of Meath-West, the other part will form the new constituency of Longford-Westmeath (four-seats).

DMC

The map is now available...

http://www.constituency-commission.ie/docs/press_dail_2004.pdf

and I still cant work out what constituency I'm gonna be voting in!!

DMC

Right, my map reading skillz tells me I'll be voting in Meath East, yet I'm 5 miles from the nearest big town, Kells, which is in Meath West. I have more in common with Kells than with Ratoath and Dunboyne, and I cant go into a TD's clinic based in a town 5 miles away as he'd have no say.

:dunno: :dunno: :dunno:

Victor

Ah, parish pump politics at it's best. I don't remember these guys complaining when they had an extra seat in last year's elections compared to Dublin Mid-West, Dublin West and Kildare North (all four had similar populations, but Slgo-Leitrim and Longford-Roscommon had an extra seat each.

My, my, in reading this article, you would think that Garda paramilitary units were shooting Leitrim people on sight - like it was Donegal or something . Here hoping they eventually abolish Leitrim as a county (Leitrim population 25,815, county councillors* 22; Wexford population 116,543, county councillors 21).

* And senate votes.

http://home.eircom.net/content/unison/national/2319230?view=Eircomnet

Electoral row flares anew as Leitrim faces having no TD
From:The Irish Independent
Friday, 9th January, 2004
Senan Molony Political Correspondent

THE CONTROVERSY over the redrawing of constituency boundaries continued last night, with fresh anger at the real prospect of Leitrim not having a single TD in the next Dail.

Senator Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail) said the halving of Leitrim into two regions, each of which would be joined with separate counties for electors, amounted to a "political murder" which he compared to the ethnic carving-up of former Yugoslavia.

Meanwhile, it emerged that Fianna Fail TD John Ellis, the sole Leitrim deputy in the current Dail, has decided to contest the new constituency of Roscommon-South Leitrim in the next election.

The other half of the county will become subsumed into Sligo-North Leitrim, now set to become a three-seater. The existing Sligo-Leitrim constituency has four seats.

Mr Ellis faces severe difficulties in the new entity, quite apart from the loss of half his territory. He will be campaigning for the first time among Roscommon farmers - some of whom are still owed money by a meat business with which Mr Ellis was involved.

While accepting the determination of the independent constituency commission, Mr Ellis said he felt that his Leitrim political colleague, Senator Paschal Mooney had "every right to be upset," given the great strides Leitrim had made in the past.

Mr Mooney said the decision of the Constituencies Review Commission to split Leitrim in half could have the end result that Leitrim, one of 26 counties, would not have a single representative among 166 members of the Dail after the next election.

"I thought this battle was fought and won over 20 years ago, when Leitrim's territorial integrity was restored following the butchery of the county by successive Governments for their own political ends," he said.

He predicted that the decision would reopen long-buried regional differences in Leitrim, which is divided north from south by the natural barrier of Lough Allen.

"As someone who lives in the centre of the county, I am acutely aware of the consequences of the geographical division just outside my town of Drumshanbo."

He pointed out that in its terms of reference the Commission had been asked, as far as was possible, to avoid breaking up counties.

In the event, however, a number of county areas were transferred to other electoral regions - notably a part of Westmeath into the new Meath West constituency.

Mr Mooney complained, however, that "Leitrim is the only whole county to be broken up completely, adding another grim statistic to its long history of neglect and disadvantage.

"This decision will deny my native county not only possible Dail representation but a voice at the highest level of Government.

"What future Taoiseach will be interested in promoting somebody who represents a rump of a county?" he asked.