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Sam Boal

New Electoral Commission formally established with Supreme Court judge as chairperson

One of the commission’s responsibilities will be reviewing Dáil Éireann and European Parliament constituencies and local electoral area boundaries.

MINISTER FOR HOUSING and Local Government Darragh O’Brien and Minister of State for Electoral Reform Malcolm Noonan have today welcomed the establishment of An Coimisiún Toghcháin (the Electoral Commission) ahead of next year’s local elections.

The commission will take on a range of existing electoral functions, including explaining to the public the subject matter of referendums and reviewing Dáil Éireann and European Parliament constituencies as well as local electoral area boundaries.

Both Ministers have also welcomed the appointment of Supreme Court judge Marie Baker to the role of commission’s Chairperson.

Her appointment to the role of Chairperson completes the commission’s seven-person membership, following the appointment of four ordinary members in December.

The Clerk of the Dáil and the Ombudsman will sit as ex officio members of the commission.

O’Brien said:

“I urge the public to engage with the important, upcoming work of the Commission in protecting and modernising our electoral landscape.”

“An Coimisiún Toghcháin is independent of Government, reporting directly to the Oireachtas and will be central to the administration, development and protection of our democratic processes and institutions.”

He added that the commission will oversee the preparation and maintenance of the Register of Political Parties.

“It will also carry out a number of new functions including research on electoral policy, the regulation of online political advertising and protecting the integrity of elections,” he concluded.

The Electoral Reform Bill 2022 paved the way for the commission’s creation, allowing it to take over the work of the Referendum Commission, Constituency Commission and the Local Electoral Area Boundary Committees.

The Bill also allows for the expansion of the number of TDs within the Dáil due to Ireland’s growing population.

The bill allows for the number of TDs to increase to at least 169 TDs and up to a maximum of 179 TDs.

Preliminary data from the 2022 Census shows that the Dáil will require at least 11 new TDs, as Ireland’s population is now at 5,123,536 people, the highest figure since 1841.

This will lead to an increase in the number of TDs who are elected to the 39 constituencies, due to the Constitution requiring one TD for every 20,000 to 30,000 people.

The commission may be involved in increasing the number of TDs in some 3 and 4-seater constituencies, or creating new constituencies entirely.

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    Mute David Corrigan
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    Feb 9th 2023, 6:23 AM

    The country doesn’t need more TD’s. Get the local councilors doing more work for the local communities. It would be the cheaper solution.

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    Mute Kieran Murphy
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    Feb 9th 2023, 6:46 AM

    @David Corrigan: the number of TD’s to ratio of the population is mandated in the Constitution.

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    Mute Pat Duggan
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    Feb 9th 2023, 8:26 AM

    @David Corrigan: We have 949 county councillors. What do they do ?

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    Mute David Corrigan
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    Feb 9th 2023, 8:38 AM

    @Pat Duggan: That’s an excellent question Pat. Kieran’s point above is rock solid in fairness but we need to look at what it costs to increase headcount verses what we get in return.
    I think the answer is we get a very very poor return.

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    Mute Gert McNulty
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    Feb 9th 2023, 6:34 AM

    We need more house not TDs. You could build an affordable house for every extra TD in the dail. More TDs will mean more objections to housing . O’brien is the biggest sham I have encountered in my life

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    Mute Noel Dillon
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    Feb 9th 2023, 7:35 AM

    @Gert McNulty: it has nothing to do with the minister. The constitution gives parameters for the number of Dáil seats required.

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    Mute Lesidees
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    Feb 9th 2023, 11:20 AM

    Time to change the constitution? When the article on the population range per td was written, the population was around three million. Now it’s heading towards twice that

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    Mute Tacita O'Copa
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    Feb 9th 2023, 1:46 PM

    @Lesidees: “When the article on the population range per td was written, the population was around three million. Now it’s heading towards twice that”

    Hence the requirement for more representatives.

    To prevent people moaning we don’t have enough for adequate democracy in an expanding population. You know?

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