Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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116. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if he proposes to establish the Dáil Éireann constituencies boundaries commission in July 2016 following the provisional 2016 census returns; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19913/16]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Census 2016 was taken on 24 April 2016 and the Central Statistics Office expects to publish the preliminary results this month. Section 5 of the Electoral Act 1997 provides for the establishment, by me as Minister, of a Constituency Commission upon the publication of those results. The function of the Constituency Commission is to make a report on the constituencies for the election of members of the Dáil and the members of the European Parliament having regard to Article 16 of the Constitution and to the terms of reference set out in section 6(2) of the Electoral Act 1997.

In accordance with section 9 of the Electoral Act 1997 the Constituency Commission must present its report to the Chairman of the Dáil no later than three months after the publication of final census results. These results are expected in late March or early April 2017.