Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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335. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the projected timelines for the completion of the national census and consequent Constituency Commission report. [46089/21]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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In September 2020, the Government, on the advice of the Central Statistics Office (CSO), decided to postpone the 2021 Census due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The next census is now due to take place on 3 April 2022. Reviews of Dáil and European Parliament constituencies are linked to the publication of Census of Population data. In practical terms, the publication of preliminary census results triggers the establishment of a Constituency Commission under section 5(1) of the Electoral Act 1997 with the Commission required to present its report on Dáil and European Parliament constituencies to the chairman of the Dáil within three months of publication of final census results.

The timing for the publication of both preliminary census results and final census results are matters for the CSO but typically have taken place within approximately 3 months and 12 months respectively of the holding of the census. The next review of Dáil and European Parliament constituencies will commence following the publication of preliminary census results and will be completed in accordance with the statutory timeframe.

Notwithstanding the above, in January of this year, I published the General Scheme of the Electoral Reform Bill. The general scheme addresses a number of commitments in the Programme for Government - Our Shared Future including the commitment to establish a statutory Electoral Commission. The general scheme has been published on my Department's website at www.gov.ie/en/publication/34cf6-general-scheme-of-the-electoral-reform-bill-2020/.

The Electoral Commission will be independent of Government and will report directly to the Oireachtas. Following its establishment, it will, among other matters, take on several existing statutory electoral functions from the outset, including the work currently undertaken by Constituency Commissions.