Pre-Elections round up

The European Parliament and Local Elections will be held on Friday 23 May 2014, polling will be between the hours of 7am and 10pm on that day.

Local Elections – changed electoral areas and municipal districts

The Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, according to its own website, oversees the operation of the local government system and implements policy in relation to local government structures, functions, human resources and financing. Currently at county/city level, there are 29 County Councils, 5 City Councils, 5 Borough Councils and 75 Town Councils.

Changes to your local electoral area

The Local Electoral Area Boundary Committee Report was published on 30 May 2013 and is downloadable by clicking here. The main recommended changes in local government structures, including a new system of municipal districts, replacing the 80 town councils, will be brought into effect from 1 June 2014, following the local elections on 23 May.  Recommendations of the Local Electoral Area Boundary Committee Report will provide the basis on which the local elections on 23 May will be held and the electoral registers are now being prepared on that basis.

A map of Ireland setting out the recommended local electoral areas can be downloaded by clicking here, recommended local electoral areas for Dublin City Council here and a map of the recommended local electoral areas for Cork County Council here.

European Parliament Elections – 11 MEPS to be elected in 3 constituencies

In September 2013, new Irish MEP constituencies were announced. Ireland will have 11 MEPs after the next European election on 23 May 2014. Under recommendations by the European Parliament Constituencies Committee, Ireland is split into three constituencies for European Parliament elections. The change to constituency boundaries follows the reduction in the number of seats from 12 to 11 as a number of countries had their number of seats reduced in order to accommodate the admission of Croatia as the 28th member of the EU.

In summary, there is a sole Dublin constituency, while Leinster will be split into two. There will be a three-seat Dublin constituency consisting of Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown; Fingal and South Dublin; and the city of Dublin. A four-seat Midlands-North-West constituency with the counties of Cavan, Donegal, Galway, Kildare, Laois, Leitrim, Longford, Louth, Mayo, Meath, Monaghan, Offaly, Roscommon, Sligo and Westmeath. The four-seat South constituency will include the counties of Carlow, Clare, Cork, Kerry, Kilkenny, Limerick, Tipperary, Waterford, Wexford and Wicklow.
For more detail, see Report on European Parliament Constituencies.

Contact your TDs and Senators

Your elected representatives are there to represent you very year, not just in a general election one. Ask for a fair deal for the arts, arts organisations and artist, nothing more and nothing less.
To contact any elected representative in the Houses of the Oireachtas, email them at firstname.surname@oireachtas.ie or find their number in the Phone book.
List of Members of Dáil Éireann
List of Members of Seanad Éireann.