To whom it may concern,

I wish to make a submission with particular regard to the Carlow-Kilkenny constituency and to ask the commission to ensure the entirety of both counties remain within the same European constituency. I would ask the commission to give consideration to Dr. Adrian Kavanagh’s submissions, particularly a redraw which would see a stand alone 4 seat Munster constituency, a 3 seat East constituency comprising of the counties of Louth, Meath, Kildare, Wicklow, Wexford, Laois, Carlow and Kilkenny, a 4 seat Dublin constituency and a 3 seat North-West constituency comprising of the remaining counties in Leinster and the counties in Connacht and Ulster. The submissions which Dr. Kavanagh has submitted have been redrawn with not only geographical considerations but also with regard to population per MEP and so are all valid proposals in my opinion.

 I feel that it is essential that counties which will be joined for the next general election should not be separated for the upcoming European elections. I would like to thank the Commission for their work on the Dail constituencies review and I would ask that the counties of Carlow and Kilkenny be reunited for all future elections wherever possible.

Finally I would like to inquire if the proposed review of local election boundaries before the 2029 local elections, possibly taking place in 2027 have been confirmed and when details of the review will be published?

Thank you,

Paul Mahon