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THE NUMBER OF TDs in the next Dáil could be cut by as much as 13 and as few as six under the Electoral Amendment Bill that has been published by the Minister for Environment Phil Hogan today.
The Constituency Commission has been set up by Hogan, whose portfolio includes local government, following the publication of the new census figures which showed a population in Ireland of 4,581,269.
Based on this number the national average population per TD is 27,598, therefore the commission will be required to recommend Dáil constituencies based on a number of TDs not less than 152 and not more than 160.
With 152 TDs not seen as feasible, the commission will be looking to reduce the number of TDs to between 153 and 160. The current legislation states that the total number of Dáil members will be between 164 and not more than 168.
The Electoral Amendment Bill also states that each constituency will return between 3,4 and 5 members. The bill also states that breaching of county boundaries shall be avoided as far as practicable and that each constituency shall be composed of contiguous areas.
The commission, which will be chaired by a judge from the Supreme or High Court, will report its recommendations within three months of publication of the final census results. These are due in April 2012.
The Electoral Amendment Bill also provides for the introduction of a six month time limit on the holding of by-elections to fill Dáil vacancies.
The spending limits for presidential elections will also be reduced from €1.3 million to €750,000 and it provides for a reduction in the amount that can be reimbursed from the exchequer to eligible candidates, from €260,000 to €200,000.
These new limits will be in place for the presidential election later this year.
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I hope it can go ahead.
@Alan Byrne: No reason now for it not to go ahead.
Let 40,000 people at a gaa match, Let 70,000 people at a music festival no problem. But for the love of God don’t let a partner into the labour ward to support a pregnant woman or visit their new born child they’ll infect the country. Give me a break. Priorities people please
@Dan Linehan: He said that something like electric picnic could go ahead with vaccinated people only. Vaccination rates among pregnant women is quite low. Also, hospitals obviously contain a lot of very vulnerable people. So there is consistency in relation to vaccination rates and vulnerability.
@Thomas O’ Donnell: then separate vaccinated women from non vaccinated women its pretty simple.
@Dan Linehan: sounds like some one wasn’t allowed into a Labour ward. Talk about off topic.
@Thomas O’ Donnell: he didn’t even say that. He said that he’d prefer if the people in croke park were vaccinated, given the size of the crowd. EP losing the run of themselves here, again.
@Dan Linehan: Apples and oranges.
@Dan Linehan: unfortunately partners cannot be let in due to the risk of infecting vulnerable new born babies with a killer virus. Have some cop on.
@Dan Linehan: an unvaccinated partner? If so then NO
There’s too much logic being expected here for this to work out.
Super Spreader Event.
@John Lynch: Correct, exactly what the hurling final was but wouldn’t have been had it been confined to the fully vaccinated only.
Can Garth Brooks headline Fri sat and sun too ?
@CAMILA REMONA: Garth doesn’t have enough friends in high places i’m afraid…
Can someone ask Tony
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/aug/23/almost-5000-covid-cases-linked-to-cornish-music-and-surf-festival-boardmasters
5K cases linked to this one. Latitude one of Mr. Benns 500% increase locally., Lolpolooza all local counties around area sent public health that if you were at to get tested immediately. This was vaccine certs, lateral flow tests etc. The fact is it will not nationally cause an explosion but locally people will pay a price, it maybe a vulnerable loved one’s life. If it was my area and my kids I’d march on the local council. Their is no genuine pinimg here for local artists, its let me print money. Get the guitars back into pubs and small venues the lifeblood of an artists life back open. Liam Gallagher will survive, the local wedding band might not.
@Albert Brennerman: EP is proposed to be open to vaccinated people only. The couple or examples you were able to find (out of hundreds) in Europe were not. If you knew anything about EP (which you clearly don’t) you’d know that there are thousands of jobs and millions of euro to the economy at risk.
If EP went ahead it would be soooooooo amaaaaaaaaaaaaazing.
GAA is more PC!!
Tough one for Micheal!!!!
@Chris Gaffney: he made his bed by attending the hurling final. He has to deal with the consequences.
@Chris Gaffney: Houlihan only saving Martin and Coveneys blushes over attendance at final.These scammers and chancers should not be RULING us.Time for change people.
Release the Beast,
The big Cheese Dr Tony has stated its ok for people with vaccines to party outdoors!
Tony Holohan will not allow it because he knows the rate of infection will rise with so many people, being asymptomatic in one place, and they will be infecting each other making for incidences of covid, he knows this but still persists on the vaccines, & he and others like him will call the lady gp from northern Ireland a charlatan for revealing the truth.
There are interests and interests in the world of arts, entertainment and sport.
Just right..
have your say