Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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271. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the expected timelines for the Electoral Commission to be established; and the timelines for it to carry out the Dáil constituency boundary review, to report its findings to Dáil Éireann and to legislate for the new boundaries. [34297/22]

Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
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The Programme for Government – Our Shared Future - includes a number of commitments on electoral reform including the establishment of an independent, statutory Electoral Commission.  These commitments are the Government’s immediate goals in terms of electoral reform and are currently being prioritised by way of the Electoral Reform Bill 2022.

The Electoral Reform Bill 2022, which is currently progressing through the Houses of the Oireachtas, provides for, among other matters, the establishment of an Electoral Commission.  In addition, the Bill provides for the review of Dáil and European Parliament constituencies to be undertaken by the new Electoral Commission following its establishment.

Under the provisions of the Bill, the Report of the Electoral Commission on the review of Dáil and European Parliament constituencies will be published within three months of the publication of the final Census results.  While the publication of final Census results is a matter for the Central Statistics Office, results are anticipated for publication in Spring 2023.

This would indicate that a final report from the Electoral Commission on Dáil and European Parliament constituencies would be expected in Summer 2023.  It will be a matter for the Oireachtas to legislate for revised constituency boundaries following its consideration of the final report of the Commission.

It is intended that the Electoral Commission will be established shortly following enactment of the Electoral Reform Bill 2022.  Committee Stage of the Bill is scheduled for 30 June 2022 in Seanad Éireann.  In tandem with the Bill's progression through the Oireachtas, a transitional team has been put in place in my Department to progress the administrative elements of the Commission's establishment.