Labour TD for Dublin North West Róisín Shortall has called on Minister for the Environment John Gormley to address the "huge disparity" in the ratios between councillors and the population in different parts of the State.
Ms Shortall said Mr Gormley should amend the terms of reference of local electoral boundary committees, established last month, to ensure more balanced ratios.
Ms Shortall said the electoral area with the lowest ratio was Ballinamore, Co Leitrim, where there was one councillor for 1,122 people, while the highest was in Mulhuddart, in Dublin, with one councillor for 13,327 people.
"Such a level of disparity is indefensible and would not be tolerated by the courts in relation to Dáil constituencies," she added.
"It is simply not reasonable that a councillor in Mulhuddart should be expected to represent more than 13,000 people, while a councillor in Leitrim has to represent less than one-tenth of that number."
Ms Shortall said research she had undertaken had revealed a national ratio of one councillor to 4,802 people.
Swords, in north Dublin, with a population of 58,400, had five councillors, while Granard, Co Longford, with a population of 7,800, also had five councillors.
Blarney, Co Cork, with a population 42,300, had four councillors, as had Ballaghaderreen, Co Roscommon, with a population of 8,300.
Lucan, Dublin, with a population of 50,000, had four councillors, as did Lismore, Co Waterford, with a population of 9,400. Borris, Co Offaly, with a population of 6,000, had three councillors, as did Ballymun-Whitehall, in Dublin, with a population of 27,300.
Ms Shortall said the disparities could also give rise to skewed results in Seanad elections, where councillors formed the overwhelming majority of the electorate.
"For instance, Leitrim, with a population of less than 30,000, has 22 Seanad votes, while Dublin city, with a population of more than 16 times greater, has just 52 votes," she added.
"I do not begrudge the people of Leitrim their level of representation, but I do think there is an urgent need to reduce the level of disparity. It is virtually impossible for a part-time councillor to meet the needs of more than 13,000 people."
She added that in a small rural electoral area, virtually everyone knew their local councillor, while in a large urban electoral area most people would never even have a chance to meet their local representative.
