25 February 2025 –An Coimisiún Toghcháin, Ireland’s independent electoral commission has today published on its website, its working papers for the 2023 Constituency Review including documents, tables and maps.

The 2023 Constituency Review recommended a significant increase in the number of TDs and a redrawing of many of Ireland’s Dáil constituency boundaries. Its recommendations were subsequently passed into law by the Oireachtas and used in the 2024 General Election.

An Coimisiún Toghcháin met 14 times between its establishment in February 2023 and July 2023, to develop and agree its recommendations. Today sees the publication of over 100 documents which An Coimisiún reviewed and developed during that process.

In making its August 2023 recommendations An Coimisiún was obliged by its statutory and constitutional mandate to consider when making a recommendation for the increase in the number of TDs the constitutional requirements to have each TD representing an average of between 20,000 and 30,000 people and with balanced national representation.

An Coimisiún also met statutory terms of reference including that the total number of members recommended should be between 171 and 181, that each constituency must have 3, 4 or 5 seats, various geographical considerations, the respecting of county boundaries as far as practicable and maintaining continuity of constituencies.

The recommendations provided for an increase in the number of TDs by 14 to 174 and the number of constituencies by 4 to 43. The recommendations reduced many existing county boundary breaches that saw people voting in a constituency outside of their county, and removed seven of the 10 previously existing breaches, reducing the size of two more, while creating just three new county boundary breaches.

Despite the increase in TD numbers recommended, An Coimisiún maintained a high level of continuity in the arrangement of constituencies with seven constituencies remaining entirely unchanged (Clare, Cork South-West, Donegal, Dublin Central, Kerry, Limerick County, and Waterford).

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For further information, please contact:

Brian Dawson, Communications and Public Affairs Manager,

An Coimisiún Toghcháin, The Electoral Commission,

Brian.dawson@electoralcommission.ie / 086 0749344

Editor’s Note:

Link: The Constituency Review 2023 Working Papers

Link: The 2023 Constituency Review Report

The changes made in each constituency and implemented for General Election 2024 are visible in the table below:

An Coimisiún Toghcháin, The Electoral Commission

An Coimisiún Toghcháin is a statutory, independent body, established on 9 February 2023 with responsibility for a broad range of electoral functions set out in the Electoral Reform Act 2022. An Coimisiún is central to Ireland’s electoral system, carrying out a range of existing electoral functions, including:

• promoting public awareness of, and working to increase public participation in the State’s electoral and democratic processes through education and information programmes;
• responsibility for the registration of political parties;
• overseeing the modernised Electoral Register, making recommendations and setting standards in relation to its maintenance and updating;
• the regulation of online paid-for political advertising, ensuring transparency in respect of online political advertisements during the period of an election or referendum campaign; (Legislation not yet commenced); and
• responsibility for the investigation and monitoring of online disinformation, online misinformation and manipulative or inauthentic behaviour online during election campaign periods, as well as functions to prevent manipulative or inauthentic behaviours online. (Legislation not yet commenced).

An Coimisiún is also tasked with several new electoral roles, including:

• making reports for the Minister in relation to local electoral boundaries;
• preparing research programmes and conducting research on electoral policy and procedure, and providing advice, as required, to the Minister and Government;
• the preparation of ex-post reports on the administration of electoral events;
• the decision-making, oversight, secretariat and supporting services associated with explaining the subject matter of referendum proposals, the promotion of public awareness of referendums and encouragement of the electorate to vote at referendum polls; and
• the conducting of reviews and making reports in relation to the constituencies for the election of members to the Dáil and the election of members to the European Parliament.

It is anticipated that the initial set of functions assigned to An Coimisiún will be expanded upon as it builds capacity and expertise.