Louth Dáil constituency could see 11,501 people moved to Meath East constituency

The Louth Dáil constituency could see its population reduced by 11,501 should the recommendations the Electoral Commission has made in its independent recommendations to the Oireachtas on the make-up of Ireland’s electoral constituencies for the next Dáil and European Parliament elections be adopted.

The Electoral Commission has recommended that the number of TDs for the next Dáil be increased to 174, up from 160. With the increase in population since the last census, it is necessary for the number of TDs to be increased to meet the requirements in Article 16.2 of the Constitution, that each of Ireland's TDs should represent, on average, 20,000 to 30,000 people. 

With regards the Louth constituency, it is currently a five seat constituency with a population of 167,607, an increase
of 16,683 (11.05%) since 2016. The Louth constituency is currently made up of Co Louth and two Co Meath EDs south of Drogheda. 

The main consideration for the Commission, it says, was the current breach of the Meath county boundary and how best to accommodate the increase in the constituency’s population. 

The two EDs in the Co Meath part of the constituency have a combined population of 27,904. A large part of one of these EDs St Mary’s (Part) (population of 16,403) is in the town of Drogheda. The other ED of Julianstown has a population of 11,501.

^{Above: The Louth Dáil constituency}

The Commission says that there were a large number of submissions relating to the Louth constituency (over 10% of all submissions received during the consultation period). The majority of submissions called for the breach of the Co. Meath
boundary to be either continued, or increased with the transfer of more Co. Meath EDs to the Louth constituency or a new Drogheda constituency created which would take in further EDs from Co Meath.

According to the Commission, many of the submissions stated that they were part of a campaign promoting city status for Drogheda. The Commission also noted that many submissions received called for all of the Co Meath EDs to be located in Co. Meath constituencies.

The Commission recommends that it should remain as a five seat constituency. The Julianstown ED with a population of 11,501 is recommended for transfer to the Meath East constituency, while the St Mary’s (Part) ED would stay in the Louth constituency.

This reduces the breach of the county boundary of Meath from two EDs to one ED. The Louth constituency would have a population of 156,106.

The final determination of the constituencies for Dáil Éireann will in due course be decided by the Houses of the Oireachtas in legislation.