Dear Sir/Madam,

I wish to make the following submission to the Electoral Commission in relation to the five constituencies in the county of Cork.

Based on the population increase indicated in the Census 2022 Preliminary Results from the CSO, I propose that the number of TD’s in Cork city and county be increased from 18 to 20 and that the five constituencies be maintained with the boundary changes outlined below. This will give a fair and balanced representation per TD across the entire county as indicated in Table 1 below.

Proposed Constituencies (Table 1)

Constituency	Population	Number of TD’s	Population per TD
Cork South Central	144299	5	28860
Cork North Central	144749	5	28950
Cork East	117522	4	29380
Cork North West	86941	3	28980
Cork South West	87726	3	29242

When looking at Cork county as a whole, the first issue which must be addressed is the anomaly which currently has Ballincollig in the constituency of Cork North West.

Cork North West is a large rural constituency stretching as far as the Cork-Kerry border.

Ballincollig is a densely populated urban area, which since 2019, is a part of Cork City local authority. Traditionally, Ballincollig was in the constituency of Cork South Central.

Cork South Central is an urban constituency, which is identical to Ballincollig in demographic profile, economic and social activity. Geographically, Ballincollig is located south of the natural boundary that is the River Lee and is linked to the rest of Cork South Central by Irelands first 24 hour, 7 day a week bus services.

Ballincollig consists of only 2% of the area of Cork North West but has 20% of the constituency population. Despite this, it has never elected a Dail representative as part of Cork North West.

This submission proposes changes to the five Cork constituencies which are based around moving

Ballincollig from Cork North West to Cork South Central. These changes are outlined below.

Cork  South  Central

    It is proposed that Ballincollig is added to Cork South Central (to address the issues outlined above). This move will see Cork South Central revert to a 5-seat constituency as it was previously.

    To balance the increase in population that this brings, the three electoral divisions of Liscleary, Kilpatrick and Ballygarvan should move to Cork South West. These three electoral divisions are largely rural areas with a profile better suited to Cork South West.

The addition of Ballincollig and the removal of Liscleary, Kilpatrick and Ballygarvan gives Cork South

Central a uniform urban population of 144299 which is perfect for 5 seats.

Cork  South  West

    It is proposed that Cork South West will remain a 3 seat constituency with the addition of the 3 electoral divisions Liscleary, Kilpatrick and Ballygarven from Cork South Central as previously mentioned.

    It is also proposed to move the 4 electoral divisions of Ballymurphy, Brinny, , Templemartin and Murragh from Cork North West to Cork South West. These 4 electoral divisions are in the hinterland of Bandon town and there is a strong case for their inclusion with the greater Bandon area based on geography, economic and social activity.

    It is proposed to move the 25 electoral divisions listed below which are all based in the far west of the constituency (Bantry and its hinterland) from Cork South West to Cork North West. These electoral divisions are; Kilcatherine, Coulagh, Kilnamanagh, Kilaconenagh, Bear, Curryglas, Adrigole, Kilcaskin, Glengarriff, Ahil, Douce, Kealkill, Mealagh, Bantry Rural, Bantry Urban, Bantry Rural/Widdy, Durrs West, Glanlough, Seefin, Sheepshead, Durrs East, Scart, Gortnascreeny, Dromdaleague South and Dromdaleague North.

Moving the electoral divisions of Bantry and it’s hinterland from Cork South West will reduce the constituency in length from 159km to 80km. It results in Cork South West having a population of

87726 retaining 3 seats of uniform demographics and economic activity.

Cork  North  West:

         It is proposed that Ballincollig will move from Cork North West to Cork South Central

         It is proposed to move the 4 electoral divisions of Ballymurphy, Brinny, Templemartin and

Murragh to Cork South west (as outlined above).

         It is proposed to move the electoral division of Bantry and its hinterland from Cork South

West to Cork North West (Kilcatherine, Coulagh, Kilnamanagh, Kilaconenagh, Bear,

Curryglas, Adrigole, Kilcaskin, Glengarriff, Ahil, Douce, Kealkill, Mealagh, Bantry Rural, Bantry Urban, Bantry Rural/Widdy, Durrs West, Glanlough, Seefin, Sheepshead, Durrs East, Scart, Gortnascreeny, Dromdaleague South and Dromdaleague North) thus aligning Bantry and its hinterland with the rural constituency of Cork North West.

The resulting Cork North West will be a large rural based constituency of uniform demographics and economic activity with a population of 86941 retaining 3 seats.

Cork  North Central

It is proposed Cork North Central will gain an additional seat and revert to a 5 seat constituency as it was previously with the addition of the electoral divisions of Mallow rural, Mallow South and Mallow North from Cork East and a population of 144749.

Cork  East

It is proposed Cork East will remain a 4 seat constituency with the movement of the electoral divisions of Mallow rural, Mallow South and Mallow North from Cork East to Cork North Central and a population of 117522.

Conclusion

Based on the Preliminary Census information, Cork county will most likely receive 2 extra Dáil seats. When looking at the 5 Cork constituencies, I believe the starting point must be Ballincollig which should be moved to Cork South Central. This will then have a knock-on impact on the rest of the county. The changes outlined above take the following into consideration.

–     Minimising changes where possible

–     Maintaining and following local authority boundaries where possible.

–      Using the natural boundary of the River Lee as the starting point for the city constituencies of Cork South Central and Cork North Central.

–      Ensuring that the hinterland of large urban towns (such as Bandon and Mallow) remain in the constituency of the large town they are close to and associated with.

Thank you for taking the time to consider this submission. Yours sincerely.

Mr. Thomas Tobin.