Kilkenny councillors raise fears of spoiled votes in new North Tipp constituency

The addition of areas from north-west Kilkenny into the newly established Tipperary North constituency have been labelled 'ludicrous', 'outrageous' and 'scandalous' at the latest sitting of the Castlecomer Municipal District.

There are fears that people in the affected area simply won’t bother to vote.

The meeting, on Monday, was the first collective meeting of North Kilkenny councillors since the shock announcement at the end of August.

Under the revised boundaries, it was recommended that parts of north-west Kilkenny be subsumed into a new three-seater Tipperary North constituency, while the rest of the county remain part of the five seat Carlow-Kilkenny constituency.

Councillor Mary Hilda Cavanagh raised the issue of the revised boundary at the meeting, claiming the changes showed 'no respect' for county boundaries and heavily criticised the failure to name 'Kilkenny' in the constituency title.

"We do not accept people in north-west Kilkenny being enshrined into Tipperary," Cllr Cavanagh said.

The Fine Gael councillor requested a letter be sent to the minister highlighting the council’s concerns. 

Cllr Michael McCarthy questioned the logic of the decision. "Not alone are we another county but another province," he said.

"The last thing you would do is vote."

Cllr John Brennan expressed his disapproval of the changes, calling it 'outrageous', while Cllr Michael Delaney labelled the outcome as 'scandalous'.

Councillors present also highlighted the possibility of votes being spoiled in the next General Election, suggesting statements like 'Up Kilkenny' may be used as a form of protest to the new constituency.

Sinn Fein representative Denis Hynes raised fears for future engagements with public bodies and argued the solution of six seater constituencies should be outlined as a potential solution post the next election.

Cllr Pat Fitzpatrick, shared the views of his colleagues, calling the developments 'baffling', adding any future correspondence on the matter should include local Green Party junior minister, Malcom Noonan.