Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

1804. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he or his Department has been informed by Mr. Donald Tusk or his offices regarding a consultation process on possible changes to European constituencies before the 2019 European elections take place; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1473/18]

John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

My Department has not received direct correspondence from Mr Donald Tusk or his office regarding possible changes to European constituencies.

However, on 11 November 2015, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on the reform of the electoral law of the European Union.  This resolution contains a Proposal for a Council decision adopting the provisions amending the Act concerning the election of the members of the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage (i.e. the European Union’s ‘Electoral Act’) which is the subject of on-going discussions in the Council of the European Union’s Working Party on General Affairs. In the context of these discussions within the Working Party on General Affairs, one Member State circulated a proposal in December last to allow a number of seats in future elections to the European Parliament to be allocated to transnational lists (i.e. a European Union-wide constituency).  It is understood that this proposal will be considered by the Working Party in due course.

Separately, national constituencies for European Parliament elections were most recently reported on in the Constituency Commission Report 2017 (June 2017), where no change to the existing arrangements for European Parliament constituencies was recommended.  At the time of that reportthere was no change to the number of members to be elected in Ireland.  However, in light of population change in MemberStates and having regard to the proposed withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the EU, there may be a need to adjust the distribution of seats in advance of the next elections to the European Parliament in 2019.  This work is being undertaken on the initiative of the European Parliament.

In this context, the European Parliament’s Committee on Constitutional Affairs, in early September 2017, published a draft report on the composition of the European Parliament for 2019-2024.  It is anticipated that the European Parliament will vote in plenary on this matter later this year after which a proposal will be brought to Council.

In the event that Ireland’s total number of seats in the European Parliament is changed in respect of the 2019-2024 parliamentary term, it will be necessary to review and revise our European constituency arrangements.  Section 5(1A) of the Electoral Act 1997 makes provision for the establishment of a committee to make a report in relation to European Parliament constituencies.  This was done in 2013 prior to the last elections to the European Parliament.