Northside constituencies set for boundary changes for

DUBLIN North West voters in Glasnevin and Drumcondra could be casting their ballots in Dublin Central at the next general election following a recommendation from the Constituency Commission.

The boundary advisory board is calling for Dublin Central to become a four-seat constituency from a three-seater as the Northside is slightly underrepresented in a 160 seat Dáil. The five Northside constituencies have an allocation of 20 seats between them but the latest Census figures put the population at 620,225, meaning an extra seat is needed.

The two constituencies with the highest population per TD ratio in the country are Dublin Central and Dublin North-West.

The Commission has proposed that a population of 12,394 in four electoral divisions from Dublin North West and 5,064 in one electoral division from Dublin Bay North be transferred into Dublin Central.

The last general election in 2016 saw a real dogfight for the three seats in Dublin Central and an extra seat will give hope to the likes of Garry Gannon (SD), Christy Burke (Ind) Mary Fitzpatrick (FF) and Joe Costello (Lab) who all missed out when Maureen O’Sullivan (Ind) grabbed the final seat in a dramatic count.

The additional voters from Glasnevin and Drumcondra will probably benefit Fine Gael’s Paschal Donohoe who got the second Dublin Central seat last year.

However, his party colleague in Dublin North West, Noel Rock, will be in for a battle when he fights to retain his Dublin North West seat without areas that helped him get elected.

“While it’s obviously a setback, the commission is independent and we have to respect its findings no matter how painful they may be,” he told Northside People.

“I’m disappointed to have lost more than 20 per cent of my voters at the stroke of a pen. It’s difficult and it will be a challenge but I am determined to meet it head on.

“I will continue to work to the best of my ability for my constituents, which is what got me elected initially and will hopefully help me retain my seat in the next general election, whenever that may be.

“There is a lot of work that needs to be done within the new boundary for Dublin North West including the Primary Care Centre for Finglas, Metro North and the introduction of the Luas for Finglas and I plan to do my utmost to ensure that these are delivered for the constituents of Dublin North West.”

The Constituency Commission’s recommendations will now go before the Dail but are expected to be approved.