Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 20 November 2012
454. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if the current European election constituencies will remain the same for the upcoming European election in 2014; if the number of seats allocated to Ireland and the number of seats allocated to each constituency will remain the same for the European election in 2014. [51275/12]
View answerI established a Constituency Commission on 27 July 2011 to review the constituencies for Dáil and European Parliament elections in the light of the 2011 Census of Population. The Commission in its report , presented to the Ceann Comhairle on 21 June 2012 , recommended maintenance of the existing arrangement of constituencies for the election of Ireland's twelve members to the European Parliament. Consistent with established practice since the first independent constituency commission reported in 1980 the Government has accepted in full the recommendations in the Constituency Commission report. I will not therefore, on foot of that report, be bringing forward any amendments to the Third Schedule of the European Parliament Elections Act 1997 in which the constituencies for European Parliament elections and the number of members to be elected for each constituency are specified. That Schedule was most recently amended by Section 8 of the Electoral (Amendment) Act 2009.
While the number of seats in the European Parliament allocated to Ireland stands at twelve there is a need to adjust the distribution of seats in the Parliament before the 2014 elections to take account of the accession of Croatia in 2013. I understand that the proposal of the European Parliament in this matter is awaited. Article 14.2 of the Treaty on European Union sets an absolute limit of 750 seats, plus the President, for the European Parliament and provides that the composition of the Parliament is decided by the European Council by unanimity on the initiative of the Parliament and with its consent.
