Dún Laoghaire (Dáil Éireann constituency)
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Dún Laoghaire Area | |
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Dún Laoghaire is a constituency represented in Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Irish parliament or Oireachtas. The constituency has an electorate of 91,522 and at present is served by 5 Teachtaí Dála (TDs). The method of election is the Single Transferable Vote. The constituency is located in the eastern area of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown county, Ireland, consisting of the area around the town of Dún Laoghaire.
One of the most high profile TDs in the constituency is the current Minister for Education and Science, Mary Hanafin. Long-time Labour Party TD Eamon Gilmore was re-elected in the 2002 general election, together with new-comers Fiona O'Malley of the PDs (daughter of Desmond O'Malley), Barry Andrews of Fianna Fail (son of former TD David Andrews), and Ciaran Cuffe of the Green Party.
The 2007 general election will see all sitting TDs seeking re-election. Fine Gael, which used to hold three seats in Dun Laoghaire but fell from two to none in 2002, will be represented by Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown Cathaoirleach, Councillor Eugene Regan, former GAA Dublin County Chair Cllr John Bailey and former TD and former Minister for Defence and the Marine Seán Barrett.
The Labour Party have recently announced that Rathmines councillor Oisin Quinn will run alongside sitting Gilmore. Quinn has received the support of former TD and Minister for Education Niamh Bhreathnach. Trinity College Professor Ivana Bacik had been tipped to run alongside Gilmore, but has recently launched her campaign for a Dublin University seat in Seanad Éireann.
Recent Census figures suggest that the constituency should be represented by only four TDs, in the absence of boundary changes. The Central Statistics Office's preliminary report states that the total population has declined from 116,286 persons in 2002 to 113,936 in 2006, representing a decrease per Dáil member of 470. As the constituency now deviates substantially from the mean (the State population having increased by 8.1% during the period 2002-06 whilst the constituency population declined by 2%), concerns have been raised that a reduction in the number of Deputies, or some redrawing of the constituency, may be required. The Attorney General is currently reviewing the impact of the Census on constituency boundaries throughout the country.
[edit] Recent results
2002 General Election: Dún Laoghaire | ||||||
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Candidate | Party | 1st Pref | % | Seat | Count | |
Mary Hanafin | Fianna Fáil | 8,818 | 16.44 | 1 | 4 | |
Eamon Gilmore | Labour Party | 8,271 | 15.42 | 2 | 8 | |
Fiona O'Malley | Progressive Democrats | 7,166 | 13.36 | 3 | 11 | |
Barry Andrews | Fianna Fáil | 7,425 | 13.84 | 4 | 11 | |
Ciarán Cuffe | Green Party | 5,002 | 9.33 | 5 | 11 | |
Niamh Bhreathnach | Labour Party | 3,893 | 7.26 | |||
Helen Keogh | Fine Gael | 3,229 | 6.02 | |||
Liam T. Cosgrave | Fine Gael | 3,135 | 5.85 | |||
Michael O'Brien | Sinn Féin | 2,159 | 4.03 | |||
John Bailey | Fine Gael | 1,705 | 3.18 | |||
Richard Boyd Barrett | SWP | 876 | 1.63 | |||
Patrick O'Keefe | Independent | 593 | 1.11 | |||
Denis O'Buachalla | Independent | 346 | 0.65 | |||
Vincent MacDowell | Independent | 345 | 0.64 | |||
Heather Williams | Independent | 319 | 0.59 | |||
Michael Redmond | Christian Solidarity | 265 | 0.49 | |||
Barbara Hyland | Independent | 86 | 0.16 |
[edit] Former TDs
- David Andrews (Retired 2002)
- Seán Barrett (Retired 2002)
- Monica Barnes (Retired 2002)
- Seán Brady, (Retired 1965)
- Joseph Brennan (Defeated 1951)
- Lionel Booth (Retired 1969)
- Niamh Bhreathnach (Defeated 1997)
- Liam Cosgrave (Retired 1981)
- Liam T. Cosgrave (Defeated 1987)
- Barry Desmond (Retired 1989)
- Henry Percy Dockrell (Defeated 1977)
- Brian Hillery (Defeated 1992)
- Geraldine Kennedy (Defeated 1989)
- Helen Keogh (Defeated 1997)
- Martin O'Donoghue (Defeated 1982)
[edit] See also
- Politics of the Republic of Ireland
- List of political parties in Ireland
- List of Irish by-elections
- Elections in Ireland