Constituency Commission

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The Constituency Commission (Irish: An Coimisiún um Thoghlaigh) is an independent statutory body in Ireland, whose remit is to make a report in relation to the constituencies for the election of members to Dáil Éireann and of members to the European Parliament from Ireland. It was established as part of the Electoral Act, 1997.[1]

Composition

The 1997 Act provides that the Chairman of the commission will be a judge of the Supreme Court or High Court. The other members of the commission are the Clerk of the Dáil, the Clerk of the Seanad, the Ombudsman, and the Secretary General of the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government. The current members are:

Name Role / Office
John Cooke Chairman and current High Court judge
Geraldine Tallon Secretary General of the Department of the
Environment, Community and Local Government
Emily O'Reilly Ombudsman
Kieran Coughlan Clerk of the Dáil
Deirdre Lane Clerk of the Seanad

The offices of the commission are in The Custom House, Dublin.

Terms of reference

In relation to Dáil constituencies, the commission is required, in observing the relevant provisions of the Constitution of Ireland, to have regard to the following:

  • The total number of members of the Dáil, subject to Article 16.2.2 of the Constitution, shall be not less than 153 and not more than 160.
  • Each constituency shall return three, four or five members.
  • The breaching of county boundaries shall be avoided as far as practicable.
  • Each constituency shall be composed of contiguous areas.
  • There shall be regard to geographic considerations including significant physical features and the extent of and the density of population in each constituency.
  • The commission shall endeavour to maintain continuity in relation to the arrangement of constituencies.

The commission invites written submissions in relation to both Dáil and European Parliament constituencies from the general public and from each member of the Dáil and Seanad, and the members of the European Parliament from Ireland, registered political parties and Returning officers/County registrars.[2]

The commission presents its report to the Chairman of the Dáil (Ceann Comhairle). The final determination of the constituencies for Dáil Éireann and the European Parliament is a matter for the Oireachtas to prescribe in legislation, as the commission's role is advisory.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Electoral Act, 1997". Office of the Attorney General of Ireland. Retrieved 7 December 2008. 
  2. ↑ Carty, R. K. (October 2006). "Electoral Boundary Determination in Single Transferable Vote Electoral Systems: the case of Ireland and Scotland". British Columbia Electoral Boundaries Commission. Retrieved 9 October 2008. 

External links

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