Dear Madam

I note with concern some calls for constituency boundaries to revert to county boundaries. County boundaries do not serve some growing urban areas very well, particularly Drogheda and East Meath.

Drogheda/East Meath is no longer separate and is Ireland’s fastest growing urban area. The population in this area share so many aspects of everyday life – public transport, shops, schools, nightlife, healthcare, water facilities, fire services, and so on. It makes no sense to split this ‘contiguous’ urban area, which has suffered from having no local administration despite having a population of 67,000.

Drogheda/East Meath is at the centre of the A92 area, which also includes lots of smaller towns and villages with a wider population of at least 90000 that depend on Drogheda/East Meath for the same facilities. I am based in Drogheda and we have far more in common with our colleagues, friends, and neighbours in Bettystown than we do with those in far flung Carlingford and north Louth.

 I’d like to request that Drogheda and East Meath remain in the same constituency. Alternatively, I am suggesting a separate constituency for the south Louth/Drogheda/East Meath (A92) area. This could be a 3 or 4 seater constituency. There are a few 3 and 4 seater constituencies in Ireland with comparable populations.

Ciara Mac Cormac