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

Boundaries for electoral purposes were accepted in full in Tipperary and everywhere else. The issue of municipal district boundaries was not one that committees were asked to adjudicate upon but one of the committees chose to do so, in spite of the fact that one of the distinct terms of reference was that each of the five former boroughs would have its own separate municipal district. I reiterate that the boundary committee reports, in terms of local electoral area boundaries, were accepted in full. I signed the statutory instruments on 19 December. I was married on 21 December, as Deputy McGrath pointed out.

The overall policy objectives, particularly regarding large urban electoral areas with populations in excess of 15,000, were largely met but were not in the case of several of the former boroughs.

In considering how best to configure the municipal districts in Tipperary and in order to ensure that Clonmel is adequately represented, I designated a distinct municipal district entitled "Borough District of Clonmel". The local electoral areas of Cahir and Cashel-Tipperary were aligned in a single municipal district. I visited Clonmel and Tipperary town recently to discuss the municipal districts with local members. We will certainly in the next week or so be changing the name of Cahir-Cashel-Tipperary municipal district to include the name Tipperary.

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