Anxious wait for TDs as Boundary Commission set to publish report tomorrow

TD’s from all political parties in Laois/Offaly face an anxious wait overnight as the Boundary Commission is due to publish its review of all 39 constituencies across the country tomorrow morning (Wednesday).

The review is widely expected to result in big changes in a number of key constituencies, and could result in Offaly and Laois being split into two three-seat constituencies, instead of being a combined cross-county five seat constituency.

The Commission, which was set up to determine the constituency make-up of the next Dail, received in excess of 500 separate submissions from politicians, political parties and members of the public. A key theme which is believed to have emerged from many of the local submissions was a strong desire for Laois and Offaly to be split into two separate constituencies, with a population transfer of 4,500 from Laois to Offaly proposed by some in order to balance their respective electoral populations.

In 2020, voters in Laois/Offaly elected three TDs in Laois - Charlie Flanagan (FG), Sean Fleming (FF) and Brian Stanley (SF), and just two from Offaly, Barry Cowen (FF) and Carol Nolan (Ind).

The Electoral Commission report was given a remit to create between 11 and 21 additional Dail seats in order to take account of Ireland’s growing population, which would bring the number of TD’s in the 34th Dáil to between 171 and 181. This would mark the first time that the number of TDs has grown since 1981.

With every one of the country’s 39 constituencies set to experience some changes in order to accommodate the extra TDs, the future of some TDs in key marginal constituencies could become even more precarious.

Minister for Public Expenditure, Paschal Donohoe, recently told journalists there is “red-hot interest all over the political system” in the contents of the report, which is due to be put before the Houses of the Oireachtas at 8am tomorrow morning (Wednesday) and will be made public a short time later.