Dáil & Euro Constituency Review 2023 recommends 14 more TDs & the reinstatement of County Boundaries

The Electoral Commission has made its independent recommendations to the Oireachtas on the make-up of Ireland’s electoral constituencies for the next Dáil and European Parliament elections.

The Commission recommends that the next Dáil would see 174 TDs representing 43 Dáil Constituencies, up from the current 160 TDs in 39 Constituencies.

The recommendations published today:

Meet the constitutional requirements on representation – each TD in a 174 seat Dáil would represent an average of 29,593 people, down from the current 32,182.

The recommendations also meet the statutory criteria set down for this review – they:

• Significantly reduce county boundary breaches – that see people voting in a constituency outside of their county. The number of county boundary breaches has been minimised in a 174 seat Dáil. The Commission recommends the removal of seven of the 10 existing breaches of county boundaries, reductions in the size of two existing breaches, and proposes just three new county boundary breaches.
• Maintain a relative balance of seats across constituencies – as the number of 3 seat constituencies will be 13 instead of 9, the number of 4 seat constituencies will be 15 instead of 17 and the number of 5 seat constituencies will be 15 instead of 13.
• Maintain a high level of continuity in the arrangement of constituencies – Seven constituencies remain entirely unchanged since the last review (Clare, Cork South-West, Donegal, Dublin Central, Kerry, Limerick County, and Waterford).

The Commission took a significant decision that it would work, wherever practicable, to remove or reduce existing breaches to county boundaries, and avoid creating new breaches. Where necessary to achieve this, the Commission decided it would go to variances beyond the 5% variance of the last two reports, and has gone as far as 8.13% variances in this report. In its work the Commission noted that recommending a higher number of seats would have resulted in significant numbers of county boundary breaches and high levels of discontinuity.

Chair of An Coimisiún Toghcháin, the Electoral Commission, Supreme Court Judge, Ms. Justice Marie Baker stated:

“Our recommendation for 174 TDs across 43 constituencies is the product of detailed analysis of constitutional and statutory limits. It arrives at a solution which best fits the needs of the country as a whole, as our population expands

“The Commission is pleased to be in a position to recommend the removal of seven of the 10 existing breaches of county boundaries, reductions in the size of two existing breaches and to propose just three new county boundary breaches in the recommended constituency composition.

“Thanks to all those hundreds of people, parties and organisations who shared their ideas and proposals with us. Each was considered in making our final recommendations.”

“This Constituency Review is the first task of Ireland’s new Electoral Commission, An Coimisiún Toghcháin. At barely 6 months old, we are proud to deliver this significant democratic review of Ireland’s constituencies, the building blocks of our democracy, on time and in line with our statutory mandate.”

In relation to the European Parliament Constituency Review, Ms. Justice Marie Baker stated:

“The EU institutions have been deliberating for several months about the overall European Parliament composition, but no final decision on an additional seat has yet been confirmed. In this situation we have had to recommend the status quo while we await confirmation on a likely additional MEP seat for Ireland.”