Article 16 of the Constitution sets out the overarching requirements that apply to the membership of Dáil Éireann. The constitutional provisions require that Dáil constituencies be revised whenever population change, as ascertained in a census, leads to population to member ratios in individual constituencies that are significantly out of line with the national average or the limits set out in the Constitution of 1 member to every 20,000 to 30,000 of population. It is only following the publication of final census results that the constituency revision can be completed.
As set out in my reply to Parliamentary Question No. 271 of 28 June 2022, the Electoral Reform Bill 2022, which is currently progressing through the Houses of the Oireachtas, provides for, among other matters, the establishment of an Electoral Commission. In addition, the Bill provides for the review of Dáil and European Parliament constituencies to be undertaken by the new Electoral Commission following its establishment. Under the provisions of the Bill, the Electoral Commission is required to publish the report on its review of Dáil and European Parliament constituencies within three months of the publication of the final census results. This mirrors the timeline that currently applies to the Dáil and European Parliament constituency review process.
While the publication of final census results is a matter for the Central Statistics Office, results are anticipated for publication in Spring 2023 with the publication of the Commission's report anticipated in Summer 2023. It will then be a matter for the Government to bring forward a Bill and for the Oireachtas to legislate in this important matter. Any general election held before new constituencies are enacted will be held on the constituencies set out in the Electoral (Amendment) (Dáil Constituencies) Act 2017.
