Electoral (Amendment) Act 2005
The Electoral (Amendment) Act 2005 (No. 16/2005) was a law in Ireland which provided for parliamentary constituencies for the 30th Dáil Éireann.[1] The 30th Dáil was elected at the 2007 general election on 24 May 2007.
This Act replaced the Electoral (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1998, which defined the constituencies used for the 29th Dáil (elected in 2002). It was itself replaced by the Electoral (Amendment) Act 2009, which created a new pattern of constituencies when the 30th Dáil was dissolved.
The Act was challenged in the High Court by Finian McGrath TD and former TD Catherine Murphy on the grounds that it left too many constituencies under or over-represented. However the High Court rejected the challenge.[2]
Summary of changes
This list, and those below, summarises the changes in representation. It does not address revisions to the boundaries of constituencies.
| Constituency | Created | Seats | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cork North-Central | 1981 | 4 | loses 1 seat |
| Dublin Mid-West | 2002 | 4 | gains 1 seat |
| Dublin North-Central | 1948 | 3 | loses 1 seat |
| Kildare North | 1997 | 4 | gains 1 seat |
| Laois–OffalyA | 2007 | 5 | renamed from Laoighis–Offaly |
| Longford–Roscommon | 1992 | 4 | abolished |
| Longford–Westmeath | 2007 | 4 | new constituency |
| Meath | 1948 | 5 | abolished |
| Meath East | 2007 | 3 | new constituency |
| Meath West | 2007 | 3 | new constituency |
| Roscommon–South Leitrim | 2007 | 3 | new constituency |
| Sligo–Leitrim | 1948 | 4 | abolished |
| Sligo–North Leitrim | 2007 | 3 | new constituency |
| Westmeath | 1992 | 3 | abolished |
List of constituencies for the 30th Dáil
Explanation of columns
- No.: The number of the constituency (in alphabetical order).
- Constituency: The name of the constituency. Compass points follow the area name in this list, which is not always the case in the official version of the name.
- Created: The year of the election when a constituency of the same name was last created.
- Seats: The number of TDs elected from the constituency under the Act.
- Change: Change in the number of seats since the last distribution of seats (which took effect in 2002).
| No. | Constituency | Created | Seats | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Carlow–Kilkenny | 1948 | 5 | none |
| 02 | Cavan–Monaghan | 1977 | 5 | none |
| 03 | Clare | 1921 | 4 | none |
| 04 | Cork East | 1981 | 4 | none |
| 05 | Cork North-Central | 1981 | 4 | minus 1 |
| 06 | Cork North-West | 1981 | 3 | none |
| 07 | Cork South-Central | 1981 | 5 | none |
| 08 | Cork South-West | 1961 | 3 | none |
| 09 | Donegal North-East | 1981 | 3 | none |
| 10 | Donegal South-West | 1981 | 3 | none |
| 11 | Dublin Central | 1981 | 4 | none |
| 12 | Dublin Mid-West | 2002 | 4 | plus 1 |
| 13 | Dublin North | 1981 | 4 | none |
| 14 | Dublin North-Central | 1948 | 3 | minus 1 |
| 15 | Dublin North-East | 1981 | 3 | none |
| 16 | Dublin North-West | 1981 | 3 | none |
| 17 | Dublin South | 1981 | 5 | none |
| 18 | Dublin South-Central | 1948 | 5 | none |
| 19 | Dublin South-East | 1948 | 4 | none |
| 20 | Dublin South-West | 1981 | 4 | none |
| 21 | Dublin West | 1981 | 3 | none |
| 22 | Dún Laoghaire | 1977 | 5 | none |
| 23 | Galway East | 1977 | 4 | none |
| 24 | Galway West | 1937 | 5 | none |
| 25 | Kerry North | 1969 | 3 | none |
| 26 | Kerry South | 1937 | 3 | none |
| 27 | Kildare North | 1997 | 4 | plus 1 |
| 28 | Kildare South | 1997 | 3 | none |
| 29 | Laois–OffalyA | 2007 | 5 | plus 5 |
| 30 | Limerick East | 1948 | 5 | none |
| 31 | Limerick West | 1948 | 3 | none |
| 32 | Longford–Westmeath | 2007 | 4 | plus 4 |
| 33 | Louth | 1923 | 4 | none |
| 34 | Mayo | 1997 | 5 | none |
| 35 | Meath East | 2007 | 3 | plus 3 |
| 36 | Meath West | 2007 | 3 | plus 3 |
| 37 | Roscommon–South Leitrim | 2007 | 3 | plus 3 |
| 38 | Sligo–North Leitrim | 2007 | 3 | plus 3 |
| 39 | Tipperary North | 1948 | 3 | none |
| 40 | Tipperary South | 1948 | 3 | none |
| 41 | Waterford | 1923 | 4 | none |
| 42 | Wexford | 1921 | 5 | none |
| 43 | Wicklow | 1923 | 5 | none |
Note ^A : Laois–Offaly is the same constituency as Leix–Offaly 1921–1961 and Laoighis–Offaly from 1961. Only the spelling of the first county name, in the legislation providing for parliamentary constituencies, has changed. There is no change in the number of seats from the previous constituency.
Constituencies abolished
| Constituency | Created | Seats | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Laoighis–Offaly | 1961 | 5 | minus 5 |
| Longford–Roscommon | 1992 | 4 | minus 4 |
| Meath | 1948 | 5 | minus 5 |
| Sligo–Leitrim | 1948 | 4 | minus 4 |
| Westmeath | 1992 | 3 | minus 3 |
See also
- List of historic Dáil Éireann constituencies
- Parliamentary constituencies in the Republic of Ireland
- Irish general election timetable
References
- ↑ "Electoral (Amendment) Act 2005". Irish Statute Book database. Retrieved 12 February 2009.
- ↑ "Electoral boundaries challenge rejected". RTÉ News. 7 June 2007. Retrieved 17 February 2009.