23/10/2007

Constituency Boundary Changes Announced

Changes to the shape and size of many Dáil constituency boundaries have been announced in the Constituency Commission's report.

Two constituencies - Dún Laoghaire and Limerick East - will both lose a seat under the new arrangements. Limerick East will also be renamed Limerick City.

Louth and Dublin West will each gain a seat, meaning that Louth will now have five seats in the Dáil and Dublin West will have four.

Changes to the boundaries of another 20 constituencies were also recommended in the report, including two more being renamed. Kerry North will become Kerry North/West Limerick and Limerick West will become Limerick.

However, the report said that the number of constituencies and number of TDs will remain unchanged, at 43 and 166, respectively.

The current constituencies were based on information provided in the 2001 Census and major changes were expected since population changes have affected the TD-to-population ratio in almost half of the 43 Dáil constituencies.

Population has increased in all but one of the constituencies, but the rate of increase has been uneven.

(KMcA)


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