James Garvin – Honorary Secretary, Fianna Fáil Kildare South CDC

On behalf of Fianna Fáil Kildare South CDC, we welcome the opportunity to make our submission to the Electoral Commission and wish all involved the very best of luck with this piece of work.

We are are making the following recommendations:

• That the Constituency of Kildare South should not breach the county boundary
• Where possible that European Election Constituency areas tie as closely to provincial areas where population allows, and not to allow more than two provinces within an electoral region.

Kildare South – Constituency Changes

In line with the aims of the Electoral Commission not to breach county boundaries where possible, we are recommending that the constituency of Kildare South should be redrawn to only contain areas that sit within the county boundary.

Currently the constituency of South Kildare covers parts of Offaly & Laois – mainly Ballybrittas & Portarlington. Constituents in these locations are serviced from a Local Government perspective by their relevant County Council – however from a National Government viewpoint are part of a separate county. Members of Local Councils are working with TDs representing different constituencies which can be challenging in terms of delivering for their areas. 

Having areas from outside of the county boundary falling within a constituency can leave voters feeling marginalised – we believe this does not serve constituents effectively. 

Removing Offaly & Laois from the Constituency would return the population base in Kildare South to just under 115,000. With a four seat constituency, this would bring Kildare South under the recommended ratio of 1 TD per 30,000 constituents.

European Elections

Given the additional seats that will be made available to Ireland, it would be preferable if constituencies would be aligned with a provincial layout as closely as possible. With the potential that the number of European Seats available to Ireland will be increased to 14 or 15, having European Constituencies aligned as closely as possible to ideally one, but maximum two provinces would be beneficial. Currently the Midlands North West Constituency covers counties from three provinces – Ulster, Connaught & Leinster. This is excessive given the large geographical area that candidates need to campaign within.

We welcome any questions that the Electoral Commission may have on this submission.