Electoral (Amendment) (Dáil Constituencies) Act 2017

Electoral (Amendment) (Dáil Constituencies) Act 2017
Oireachtas
  • An Act to provide for the number of members of Dáil Éireann; for the revision of constituencies and for the number of members to be elected for such constituencies; to amend the Electoral Act 1997; and to provide for matters connected therewith.
CitationNo. 39 of 2017
Signed23 December 2017
Commenced23 December 2017 & 14 January 2020
Legislative history
Bill citationNo. 137 of 2017
Introduced byMinister for Housing, Planning and Local Government (Eoghan Murphy)
Introduced20 November 2017
Repeals
Electoral (Amendment) (Dáil Constituencies) Act 2013
Repealed by
8 November 2024
Status: Repealed

The Electoral (Amendment) (Dáil Constituencies) Act 2017 (No. 39) is a law of Ireland which revised Dáil constituencies. It took effect on the dissolution of the 32nd Dáil on 14 January 2020 and a general election for the 33rd Dáil on the revised constituencies took place on 8 February 2020.

Following the 2016 census, the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government established an independent Constituency Commission under terms of the Electoral Act 1997.[1] The commission was chaired by Robert Haughton, judge of the High Court, and delivered its report in June 2017. It proposed several changes to Dáil constituencies, increasing the number of seats in the Dáil from 158 to 160, while the number of constituencies were reduced by 1 to 39.[2]

The Act implemented the recommendations of this report and repealed the Electoral (Amendment) (Dáil Constituencies) Act 2013, which had defined the constituencies used since the 2016 general election.[3] It increased the range for future revisions by the Constituency Commission of Dáil constituencies from between 153 and 160 TDs in 2011 legislation, to between 166 and 172 TDs.[4]

This act was repealed by the Electoral (Amendment) Act 2023, which took effect on the dissolution of the 33rd Dáil and will be in use at the 2024 general election, to be held on 29 November 2024.[5]

Revised constituencies

Dáil constituencies at the 2020 general election
Constituency[6] Created Seats
Carlow–Kilkenny 1948 5
Cavan–Monaghan 1977 5
Clare 1921 4
Cork East 1981 4
Cork North-Central 1981 4
Cork North-West 1981 3
Cork South-Central 1981 4
Cork South-West 1961 3
Donegal 2016 5
Dublin Bay North 2016 5
Dublin Bay South 2016 4
Dublin Central 1981 4
Dublin Fingal 2016 5
Dublin Mid-West 2002 4
Dublin North-West 1981 3
Dublin Rathdown 2016 3
Dublin South-Central 1948 4
Dublin South-West 1981 5
Dublin West 1981 4
Dún Laoghaire 1977 4
Galway East 1977 3
Galway West 1937 5
Kerry 2016 5
Kildare North 1997 4
Kildare South 1997 4
Laois–Offaly 2020 5
Limerick City 2011 4
Limerick County 2016 3
Longford–Westmeath 2007 4
Louth 1923 5
Mayo 1997 4
Meath East 2007 3
Meath West 2007 3
Roscommon–Galway 2016 3
Sligo–Leitrim 2016 4
Tipperary 2016 5
Waterford 1923 4
Wexford 1921 5
Wicklow 1923 5

Change in seats

This table summarises the changes in representation but does not address revisions to the boundaries of constituencies.

Constituency Seats 2016 Seats 2020
Cavan–Monaghan 4 5
Dublin Central 3 4
Kildare South 3 4

Constituencies abolished

Constituency Seats Area now in
Laois 3 Laois–Offaly and Tipperary
Offaly 3 Laois–Offaly and Kildare South

New constituencies

Constituency Seats Area from
Laois–Offaly 5 Laois and Offaly

References

  1. ^ Constituency Commission (Establishment) Order 2016 (S.I. No. 374 of 2016). Signed on 14 July 2016. Statutory Instrument of the Government of Ireland. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 16 December 2021.
  2. ^ "Constituency Commission Report 2017" (PDF). Constituency Commission. 27 June 2017. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 November 2020. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  3. ^ Electoral (Amendment) (Dáil Constituencies) Act 2017, s. 6: Repeal (No. 39 of 2017, s. 6). Enacted on 23 December 2017. Act of the Oireachtas. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 5 October 2021.
  4. ^ Electoral (Amendment) (Dáil Constituencies) Act 2017, s. 5: Amendment of section 6(2) of Electoral Act 1997 (No. 39 of 2017, s. 5). Enacted on 23 December 2017. Act of the Oireachtas. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 16 December 2021.
  5. ^ Electoral (Amendment) Act 2023, s. 6: Repeal (No. 40 of 2023, s. 6). Enacted on 19 December 2023. Act of the Oireachtas. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 8 November 2024.
  6. ^ Electoral (Amendment) (Dáil Constituencies) Act 2017, Schedule (No. 39 of 2017, Schedule). Enacted on 23 December 2017. Act of the Oireachtas. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 8 August 2021.