Peter Fitzpatrick (Louth, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Constitution states that there must be one Member for every 20,000 to 30,000 people. Therefore, the purpose of the Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2023 is to provide for the number of Members of Dáil Éireann, the revision of constituencies and the number of Members to be elected to such constituencies in light of the results of census 2022, which showed a population increase of 8.1% on the 2016 population. While debating this legislation seems incongruent, we must scrutinise the reports to determine if they adhere to the terms of reference. I take on board that the long-established practice is for the Bill to be welcomed and accepted without amendment. I will support the Bill but it would be remiss of me not to speak on it as it affects my constituency, to which I am eternally grateful.

The Louth constituency is currently a five-seater, with a population of 167,607, an increase of 11.05% since 2016. The Louth constituency is currently made up of County Louth and two County Meath electoral districts south of Drogheda. The commission considered whether the current breach of the County Meath boundary could be reduced and whether the Louth constituency could be divided into two three-seat constituencies. This may have been a popular choice. However, according to the constitutional requirement in Article 16(2), the ratio of population to number of Members should, as far as practicable, be the same throughout the country. There is a very difficult balance for any commission to achieve in getting the ratio right, respecting existing county, local authority and community boundaries and getting the urban-rural balance correct. Prior to arriving at its recommendations, I trust that the commission gave consideration to the possibilities of adhering to county boundaries in the drawing up of new constituency boundaries.

The Constituency Review Report 2023 stated that there was a large number of submissions relating to the Louth constituency. The majority of submissions called for the breach of the County Meath boundary to be either continued or increased, with the transfer of more County Meath electoral districts to the Louth constituency or for a new Drogheda constituency to be created, which would take in further electoral districts from County Meath. I acknowledge that many of those submissions were part of a campaign promoting city status for Drogheda. While on one hand, the commission adopted a somewhat flexible approach by recommending a greater percentage variance in a limited number of cases, it remained stringent on the preservation of the integrity of county boundaries and the maintenance of continuity. Taking into account the terms of reference, it recommended a reduction of the boundary breach of County Meath by the Louth constituency from two electoral districts to a single electoral district. It was recommended that the Julianstown electoral district, with a population of 11,501, be transferred to the Meath East constituency while retaining the St. Mary’s part, electoral district, with a population of 16,403, in the Louth constituency. It was also recommended that Louth should remain a five-seat constituency. This makes sense with regard to population variance and ensures the town of Drogheda is contained within a single constituency. However, the Meath East constituency has been carved out on three occasions. People feel disenfranchised and put into areas within which they do not naturally fall.

I acknowledge that at a local level, people feel somewhat disenfranchised as a result of that being done. I recognise the trust that people in different areas put in us as politicians. The issue of where people vote is about identity. The electorate identifies with those who work on behalf of their constituents. People may have different Deputies and councillors as a result of newly-imposed county and council boundaries and therefore an educational and inclusion campaign must be carried out to ease the transition. County councillors also have concerns regarding council boundaries because they need to know how their bases will be affected. Obviously, I would like to be one of the Deputies to look after my constituency until the next election. This boundary commission does not change our current representation or our current representative function.

I thank everyone in my constituency who voted for me. I was fortunate enough to be elected in the last three general elections. I have nothing but admiration for anybody who puts their hand up to represent their constituencies and for TDs and councillors. Many people have come into my constituency office over the past number of years and told me it was the first time they ever looked for any kind of representation. They could be looking for representation concerning their children's education, health, jobs, disability grants or planning permission. They come to you looking for the right directions. It is a nervous time for people when they come to see you. It is nice to have the right people there to represent them.

I will support this Bill. I hope the people who have been transferred to a constituency other than Louth will be looked after the same way we looked after them in Louth.

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