Mr. Barry Ryan:

To clarify regarding this particular question, on the face of it, yes, it looks like there is an increase. At the moment there are 160 elected Members in the Dáil and that change from 166 to 172 has already been legislated for. It was legislated for when the Dáil constituencies were reviewed the last time in 2017. The increase from 166 to 172 is already on the Statute Book. The general scheme is just repeating what has already been legislated for. The Minister of State is correct. The change was made back in 2017 because at 160 we are at the limit of what the Constitution provides in terms of the one representative per 20,000 or 30,000 and we are right up against the 30,000 limit. Consequently, when the constituency revisions were being enacted in 2017, this change was made to the terms and conditions of the Constituency Commission and they are simply being replicated in this general scheme.