Burke expects Constituency Commission Report by early summer

Deputy Peter Burke, Fine Gael TD for Longford Westmeath, has had confirmation from the secretary of the Constituency Commission that the report on any boundary changes will is expected to be published in early summer, and cannot be published any later than July 6.

“The Constituency Commission accepted submissions up until early January, during which time I made contact with the commission and put forward a strong case to bring back areas of Westmeath into the county again for general election purposes,” said Deputy Burke.

“From what I am hearing, there may be one change in Dublin and another change in the rest of Leinster due to population increases in these areas, which could have a knock on effect on the boundaries of this constituency.

“There will either be one or two new seats, due to the constitutional requirement to have at least one TD per 30,000 people, which is the maximum limit.

“Where possible, the boundary commission does not break county boundaries when deciding electoral areas. This was unable to be avoided in 2007 when the east of the county was brought into Meath West.

“I am urging the commission to now undo this mistake and to bring the county back together again, in a move which is rational and sensible to anyone who works and lives in this area”.

“Once the report is published, the Dáil will consider its results and vote on it later on in the year, so that any changes would be implemented I expect by the autumn of this year.

“Unless there is a vote and a debate held on the report in the Dáil, in the event of a snap election any boundary change recommendation will not come into effect.

“I continue to work on behalf of all people of Westmeath, despite the current boundary. There is no tangible link between the people of East Westmeath and Meath, with their local election vote staying in Westmeath but their general election vote having to go to candidates from Meath who are little known to them”

“It was earlier believed that the report would be published at the end of April, but I understand it will now seep into May or June.

“I have been firmly of the opinion for a number of years that Westmeath should vote as a county, and that our community should not be split as it has been for a number of years. A significant number of Westmeath residents currently vote in the Meath West constituency, and I believe that this acts in a negative manner in relation to representation, political engagement and in relation to county identity.

“As stated in the Electoral (Amendment) Act 1997, Section 6 (2)(c), “the breaching of county boundaries shall be avoided as far as practicable”.

I believe the breach involved in the division of these constituencies creates a number of problems and obstacles to good representation. The dividing line of the constituency is arbitrary and it is unfair that Westmeath citizens do not have access to full representative democracy.”