The Electoral (Amendment) Act 2023 is a law of Ireland to revise Dáil constituencies and European Parliament constituencies. The revised Dáil constituencies will come into effect on the dissolution of the 33rd Dáil, which must take place by 22 March 2025, with the next general election for the 34th Dáil on the revised constituencies. The next European Parliament election is in June 2024.
| Electoral (Amendment) Act 2023 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Oireachtas | |
| |
| Citation | No. 40 of 2023 |
| Signed | 19 December 2023 |
| Legislative history | |
| Bill citation | No. 77 of 2023 |
| Introduced by | Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Darragh O'Brien) |
| Introduced | 7 November 2023 |
| Repeals | |
| Electoral (Amendment) (Dáil Constituencies) Act 2017 | |
The Electoral Commission was established on 9 February 2023. Under the Electoral Reform Act 2022, it was required to consider a revision of constituencies in light of the 2022 census. On 30 August 2023, the commission delivered a report in which it proposed several changes to Dáil constituencies, increasing the number of seats in the Dáil from 160 to 174, while increasing the number of constituencies from 39 to 43.[1]
In June 2023, the European Parliament adopted a resolution to add an additional 11 MEPs. Ireland would gain one MEP under this arrangement, increasing from 13 to 14.[2][3] This was adopted by the European Council in September 2023.[4] The Electoral Commission recommended the additional seat be given to the constituency of Midlands–North-West, with the transfer of County Laois and County Offaly from South.[5][6]
The Act implements the recommendations of both these reports and would repeal the Electoral (Amendment) (Dáil Constituencies) Act 2017, which has defined the constituencies in use since the 2020 general election.
Revised Dáil constituencies edit
| Constituency | Created | Seats | ± Seats |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carlow–Kilkenny | 1948 | 5 | — |
| Cavan–Monaghan | 1977 | 5 | — |
| Clare | 1921 | 4 | — |
| Cork East | 1981 | 4 | — |
| Cork North-Central | 1981 | 5 | +1 |
| Cork North-West | 1981 | 3 | — |
| Cork South-Central | 1981 | 5 | +1 |
| Cork South-West | 1961 | 3 | — |
| Donegal | 2016 | 5 | |
| Dublin Bay North | 2016 | 5 | — |
| Dublin Bay South | 2016 | 4 | — |
| Dublin Central | 1981 | 4 | — |
| Dublin Fingal East | Next | 3 | New |
| Dublin Fingal West | Next | 3 | New |
| Dublin Mid-West | 2002 | 5 | +1 |
| Dublin North-West | 1981 | 3 | — |
| Dublin Rathdown | 2016 | 4 | +1 |
| Dublin South-Central | 1948 | 4 | — |
| Dublin South-West | 1981 | 5 | — |
| Dublin West | 1981 | 5 | +1 |
| Dún Laoghaire | 1977 | 4 | — |
| Galway East | 1977 | 4 | +1 |
| Galway West | 1937 | 5 | — |
| Kerry | 2016 | 5 | — |
| Kildare North | 1997 | 5 | +1 |
| Kildare South | 1997 | 4 | — |
| Laois | Next | 3 | New |
| Limerick City | 2011 | 4 | — |
| Limerick County | 2016 | 3 | — |
| Longford–Westmeath | 2007 | 5 | +1 |
| Louth | 1923 | 5 | — |
| Mayo | 1997 | 5 | +1 |
| Meath East | 2007 | 4 | +1 |
| Meath West | 2007 | 3 | — |
| Offaly | Next | 3 | New |
| Roscommon–Galway | 2016 | 3 | — |
| Sligo–Leitrim | 2016 | 4 | — |
| Tipperary North | Next | 3 | New |
| Tipperary South | Next | 3 | New |
| Waterford | 1923 | 4 | — |
| Wexford | 1921 | 4 | -1 |
| Wicklow | 1923 | 4 | -1 |
| Wicklow–Wexford | Next | 3 | New |
European Parliament constituencies edit
| Constituency | Area | Seats |
|---|---|---|
| Dublin | The counties of: Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Fingal and South Dublin; and the city of Dublin. | 4 |
| Midlands–North-West | The counties of: Cavan, Donegal, Galway, Kildare, Laois, Leitrim, Longford, Louth, Mayo, Meath, Monaghan, Offaly, Roscommon, Sligo and Westmeath; and the city of Galway. | 5 |
| South | The counties of: Carlow, Clare, Cork, Kerry, Kilkenny, Tipperary, Wexford and Wicklow; the cities and counties of Limerick and Waterford; and the city of Cork. | 5 |
References edit
- ^ "Constituency Review Report 2023" (PDF). Electoral Commission. p. 7.
- ^ Cunningham, Paul (16 March 2023). "Ireland to gain seat in next European Parliament term". RTÉ News. Archived from the original on 21 March 2023. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
- ^ Meskill, Tommy (15 June 2023). "Ireland set to gain extra EU Parliament seat". RTÉ News. Archived from the original on 16 June 2023. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
- ^ European Council Decision (EU) 2023/2061 of 22 September 2023 establishing the composition of the European Parliament
- ^ Burns, Sarah (20 November 2023). "Extra European Parliament seat recommended for Midlands-North West". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 20 November 2023. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
- ^ "Review of European Parliament Constituencies Report 2023" (PDF). Electoral Commission. 20 November 2023. Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 November 2023. Retrieved 20 November 2023.