John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

For the purposes of holding elections to the European Parliament later this year, the cities and counties listed in the Third Schedule should be those that were in existence on 1 September 2018, when the European Parliament constituency committee was completing its report. The Local Government Act 2019, which was enacted on 31 January last, subsequently provided for a significant extension to the boundary of Cork city. While the overall outcome of the European Parliament election in the South constituency will not be affected by this change, the European Parliament elections in Ireland are administered by local authorities based within the wider European Parliament constituency and are jointly held with the local elections. The Cork city sheriff is the local returning officer for the city, while the county sheriff is the local returning officer for County Cork. For the purposes of the efficient administration of the elections, it is considered necessary to make provision for the changes to the boundary between Cork city and county.

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