To whom it may concern,

Please find below my submission to the Electoral Commission as part of their work in reporting on constituencies, regarding the Galway East constituency.

Kind regards,
Anne Rabbitte TD

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Submission – Galway East
A key issue with the Galway East constituency over the past two elections in particular has been the fact that it does not include the entire east of the county, with parts hived off to be part of the Galway/ Roscommon constituency. There has been a shrinking of the Galway East constituency and I strongly believe this needs to change as it is leaving people confused in those boundary areas as to what constituency they’re in.

A clearer division would be to use the county boundaries. It makes sense for Ballinasloe, which is the county town, but also areas like Mountbellew, Moylough, Caltra, Dunmore, and Ahascragh to be returned to the Galway East constituency, some of which were part of the constituency as recently as 2016.

This would make it easier for TDs, Senators and Councillors to work for their constituents, who themselves would also have a clearer understanding of who their local representatives are.

In addition, in the context of the increased population since the last census, particularly if taking Ballinasloe and surrounding areas into consideration, it would seem like an additional seat in the Galway East constituency would be necessary to ensure fair and adequate representation at a national level.