Louth (Dáil constituency) explained

Louth
Type:Dáil
Year:1923
Map4:Louth (Dáil constituency) 2025.svg
Map Entity:Ireland
Map Size:200px
Members Label:TDs
Previous:Louth–Meath
Local Council Label:Local government areas
Blank1 Name:EP constituency
Blank1 Info:Midlands–North-West

Louth is a parliamentary constituency represented in Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Irish parliament or Oireachtas. The constituency elects 5 deputies (Teachtaí Dála, commonly known as TDs) on the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote (PR-STV).

Boundaries

The constituency was created by the Electoral Act 1923, and first used at the 1923 general election.[1] It currently spans the entire area of County Louth (which includes the towns of Ardee, Dundalk, Drogheda), the smallest county in Ireland, and parts of County Meath (suburbs of Drogheda and Laytown–Bettystown–Mornington–Donacarney). The boundaries were enlarged at the 2011 general election to include an area of County Meath adjacent to the town of Drogheda.[2] This followed a recommendation of the Report of the Constituency Commission on Dáil and European Parliament Constituencies 2007 outlined "by extending the constituency southwards from, and in the environs of, Drogheda and taking in electoral divisions which have extensive linkages with the town. This will allow the inclusion of the town of Drogheda and hinterland areas in a single constituency." This revision also increased the number of seats to 5.[3] [4]

The Electoral (Amendment) (Dáil Constituencies) Act 2017 defines the constituency as:[5]

The Constituency Review Report 2023 of the Electoral Commission recommended that at the next general election, Louth should remain a 5-seat constituency, with the transfer of the electoral division of Julianstown to Meath East.[6]

For the next general election, the Electoral (Amendment) Act 2023 defines the constituency as:[7]

+Changes to the Louth constituency
YearsTDsBoundariesNotes
1923–19613The county of Louth.[8] [9] Created from Louth–Meath
1961–19773The county of Louth, except the part in the constituency of Monaghan.[10] [11]
1977–19814The county of Louth;
and in the county of Monaghan,[12]
1981–20114The county of Louth.[13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18]
2011–5The county of Louth;
and in the county of Meath,[19] [20]
Transfer of territory from Meath East

Electoral division

Louth population as per electoral division,[21] for the Dáil constituency of Louth. This population count includes those within the county of Louth, as well as the electoral divisions of Julianstown, and St. Mary's (part) in the county of Meath, as per the Electoral (Amendment) (Dáil Constituencies) Act 2017.

Elections

2011 general election

Séamus Kirk was Ceann Comhairle at the dissolution of the 30th Dáil and therefore deemed to be returned automatically. The constituency was treated as a four-seater for the purposes of calculating the quota.

1981 general election

Pádraig Faulkner was Ceann Comhairle at the dissolution of the 21st Dáil and therefore deemed to be returned automatically. The constituency was treated as a three-seater for the purposes of calculating the quota.

1954 by-election

Following the death of Fine Gael TD James Coburn, a by-election was held on 3 March 1954. The seat was won by the Fine Gael candidate George Coburn, son of the deceased TD.

1923 general election

See also

Notes and References

  1. 1923. 12. Electoral Act 1923. 17 April 1923. 10 October 2021. ifs. 8. Constituencies.
  2. 2009. 4. y. Electoral (Amendment) Act 2009. 24 February 2009. 16 December 2021.
  3. News: New Boundaries for Dáil Constituencies. RTÉ News. 23 October 2007. 16 April 2008. 31 March 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20080331093230/http://www.rte.ie/news/2007/1023/dail.html. live.
  4. Web site: Report on Dáil and European Parliament Constituencies 2007 . Constituency Commission . 23 October 2007 . 14 June 2008 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20071119033516/http://www.constituency-commission.ie/docs/con2007.pdf . 19 November 2007 . dmy .
  5. 2017. 39. y. Electoral (Amendment) (Dáil Constituencies) Act 2017. 23 December 2017. 8 August 2021.
  6. Web site: Constituency Review Report 2023 . . 60 . 30 August 2023 . 30 August 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230830102132/https://ec-report.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/constituency-review-report-2023.pdf#page=60 . live .
  7. 2023. 40. y. Electoral (Amendment) Act 2023. 19 December 2023. 16 February 2024.
  8. 1935. ifs. act. 5. Electoral (Revision of Constituencies) Act 1935. 27 February 1935. 1. Revised Constituencies. 23 December 2021.
  9. 1947. 31. 1. Constituencies. Electoral (Amendment) Act 1947. 27 November 1947. 23 December 2021.
  10. 1961. 19. Electoral (Amendment) Act 1961. y. Constituencies. 14 July 1961. 23 December 2021.
  11. 1969. 3. y. Constituencies. Electoral (Amendment) Act 1969. 26 March 1969. 23 December 2021.
  12. 1974. 7. Electoral (Amendment) Act 1974. 7 May 1974. y. Constituencies. 23 December 2021.
  13. 1980. 17. y. Constituencies. Electoral (Amendment) Act 1980. 1 July 1980. 23 December 2021.
  14. 1983. 36. y. Constituencies. Electoral (Amendment) Act 1983. 14 December 1983. 23 December 2021.
  15. 1990. 36. y. Electoral (Amendment) Act 1990. 26 December 1990. 23 December 2021.
  16. 1995. 21. y. Electoral (Amendment) Act 1995. 20 July 1995. 23 December 2021.
  17. 1998. 19. y. Electoral (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1998. 16 June 1998. 23 November 2021.
  18. 2005. 16. Electoral (Amendment) Act 2005. y. 23 December 2021.
  19. 2009. 4. y. Electoral (Amendment) Act 2009. 24 February 2009. 23 December 2021.
  20. Electoral (Amendment) (Dáil Constituencies) Act 2013. y. 2013. 7. 23 December 2021. 13 February 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200213091602/http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2013/act/7/schedule/enacted/en/html. live.
  21. Web site: Census of population by electoral division 2016. Census of Population 2016 – Preliminary Results / Geographic Changes Census of Population – Preliminary Results. CSO. 17 July 2016. 19 December 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171219151531/http://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/ep/p-cpr/censusofpopulation2016-preliminaryresults/geochan/. live.