Changes to Sligo-Leitrim constituency as North Roscommon portion transfers back

An Coimisiún Toghcháin, The Electoral Commission, has this morning made its independent recommendations to the Oireachtas on the make-up of Ireland’s electoral constituencies for the next Dáil and European Parliament elections.

The Commission recommends that the next Dáil would see 174 TDs representing 43 Dáil Constituencies, up from the current 160 TDs in 39 Constituencies. 

The Commission recommends that Sligo-Leitrim should remain a 4 seat constituency, with a transfer out of the 18 EDs (population 8,569) in the northern part of Co. Roscommon to the Roscommon-Galway constituency.

Following the recommended transfer, the would contain all of both Co. Sligo and Co. Leitrim and nine EDs of southern Donegal.

The Sligo-Leitrim constituency would have a population of 114,781 with a variance of -3.03%.

Current configuration: A 4 seat constituency, including all of Co. Sligo and Co. Leitrim, 18 EDs of north Roscommon and nine EDs of south Donegal.

Recommended configuration: Remains a 4 seat constituency encompassing all of counties Sligo and Leitrim, and the nine EDs of southern Donegal. The 18 EDs from the northern part of Co. Roscommon transfer to the Roscommon-Galway constituency, reunifying Roscommon in that constituency.

The current Sligo-Leitrim constituency is unique in that it currently comprises EDs from four counties. It consists of the entire counties of Sligo (population of 70,198) and Leitrim (population of 35,199) as well as nine EDs in southern Donegal with a population of 9,384, and the northern part of Co. Roscommon made up of 18 EDs with a population of 8,569. This
brings the total existing constituency population to 123,350.

There are no breaches in the boundaries of the counties of either Sligo or Leitrim, while the breaches in the counties of Donegal and Roscommon are addressed under their respective constituencies.

While there was a small number of submissions that argued in favour of splitting counties Roscommon and Leitrim respectively, that approach was not viewed as desirable by the Commission.

The transfer out of Sligo-Leitrim of the 18 Roscommon EDs with a population of 8,569, into the Roscommon-Galway constituency, means that the Sligo-Leitrim constituency would contain all or part of three counties rather than the current four.

The proposed changes to constituencies throughout the country.