IRELAND IS TO get 14 additional TDs, bringing the total figure to 174, following a review of Dáil and European Parliament constituency boundaries.

The report published today also recommends the creation of four new constituencies. 

There must be an average of one TD to represent every 20,000 to 30,000 people in the country, according to the Constitution.

As of last year’s Census which recorded a population of just under 5.15 million, there is currently one TD for every 32,182 people.

The Electoral Commission was tasked with choosing to increase the Dáil to between 171 and 181 seats in the extensive review which sees the majority constituencies impacted.

Each constituency must have three, four or five TDs.

Boundary changes

After every Census there is a review of the composition and boundaries of the Dáil constituencies, but this is a particularly large overhaul.

The Electoral Commission, an independent group that reports to the Oireachtas, only received Cabinet approval and got up and running in 2022, many years after it was first mooted.

It was directed to consider significant geographic, population density and physical features of a constituency.

It was also told to try and maintain as much continuity of electoral areas as possible, while not exceeding the limit of five TDs per constituency.

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In their submissions, parties of the left, including Sinn Fein, Labour and People Before Profit advocated for the reduction in the number of three-seat constituencies, which they argued worked in favour of current government parties.

However, six-seat constituencies were ruled out, which explains the creation of the new three-seaters.

The Dáil is to vote on the recommended changes as soon as possible and it is believed to be unlikely that there will be significant opposition to the proposals.