Louth Labour TD 'very much looking forward to the next election'

Louth Labour TD, Ged Nash, has said that he is “satisified” with the Electoral Commission's recommendations, and is “very much looking forward to the next election.”

In comments to the Dundalk Democrat on the Electoral Commission's recommendation that the Julianstown Electoral District (ED) be moved to Meath East, Deputy Nash said: “The redraw undertaken by the Commission was not as dramatic as some had forecast.

“I had predicted, as soon as the preliminary census data was released by the CSO in the summer of 2022, that the Julianstown ED would be removed and that the continued inclusion of the St. Mary’s ED (South Drogheda, Donacarney, Mornington and the Golf Links Road in Bettystown) would still be needed for Louth to continue to be a five-seater.

“It turned out that that is exactly what the Commission has recommended and I am satisfied with the outcome. 

“Of the three sitting TDs whose votes exceeded 10% in the Julianstown ED, I was the one who received the lowest vote from that area in 2020, numbering just over 450. The votes I received there contrasts with almost 25% of the votes I received in the St. Mary’s ED.

“I came third in the end in 2020 and the analysis from Labour number-crunchers suggests that, if the Julianstown ED votes were stripped away, the final result would have been similar if not the same, all else being equal.

“I am always proud to represent all parts of Co. Louth and our entire constituency – from Cooley right down to the southern banks of the Boyne.

“I will continue to work hard all across Louth and I am very much looking forward to the next election, now that the pitch on which we will be playing has been marked out.

“No TD ever wants to see an area they have worked in for years moved to another constituency. In the scheme of things the change recommended by the Commission is marginal.

“The loss is somewhat compensated by the 38% population growth in the St. Mary’s ED in the recent census and the massive housing developments along the Drogheda Port Access Cross Route which were not factored into the Commission’s review as hundreds of these new homes were not occupied or even built at the time the census was taken.”