Cyprian Brady (Fianna Fail)

In the context of the electoral system, county boundaries represent a system that has developed historically. There is no constitutional requirement in this regard and the Constitution does not mention counties. Legal cases have been taken in regard to this and in one of them, the O'Donovan case, Mr. Justice Budd confirmed that the Constitution was not binding in this regard. Its terms of reference require the electoral commission to adhere as far as practicable to county boundaries but there is no constitutional obligation to do so.