In the 1960s the then Fianna Fáil minister for the environment used to conduct detailed consultations with the party's Mount Street, Dublin, headquarters chief tallymen before reworking the electoral map. In the mid-1970s the national coalition government unsuccessfully attempted the famous "Tullymander" - named after the then Labour Party minister, writes Noel Whelan
Nowadays, thankfully, constituencies are redrawn by an independent commission whose recommendations have, since the mid-1980s, been accepted by the Oireachtas without amendment. Chaired by a High Court judge, and including the clerks of the Dáil and Seanad as well as the Ombudsman and the secretary of the Department of the Environment, it is a truly independent process.
The commission's task is both complex and thankless. Its primary concern is to ensure that shifts in population are reflected in a way that ensures as equal a representation as possible.
It must also have regard to the need to avoid breaches of county boundaries where possible, to frame constituencies which include contiguous areas, to have regard to geographic features as well as the need for continuity. Everyone in the political system and many pundits have a view on the shape of the electoral map but ultimately the commission must choose which option best meets all of these objectives. Inevitably, some of those most affected by boundary changes will be critical of whatever the commission suggests.
When the most recent Constituency Commission report was published this week, some politicians and commentators were critical of what they termed the commission's minimalist approach.
This is unfair. During the lifetime of the last Dáil, there was a relatively radical redrawing of constituencies. While population movement in the most recent census has been dramatic, much of it has occurred in the same areas which were restructured on the last occasion.
The need for consistency is a key requirement of the commission's work and, indeed, of the electoral process. In order to make a coherent political choice, people need to know what constituency they live in and, while transfers between constituencies are sometimes inevitable, in the interest of equality, change should otherwise be kept to a minimum.
This week's report suggests an adjustment in seat numbers in four regions: Louth/Meath, Dublin West/Dublin North, Dublin South/Dún Laoghaire and in the Limerick/Kerry area. In each instance the commission's report advanced a coherent and reasonable explanation for its decision.
An additional seat had to go to either Meath or Louth. The commission opted for Louth and facilitated this by moving the Julianstown area of Meath East into the Louth constituency, arguing that this made sense as it is a hinterland of Drogheda.
Either Dublin West or Dublin North had to get an additional seat and the commission opted for Dublin West as the constituency with the largest variance from the national average in terms of representation. The commission then had to redraw a large chunk of Dublin North into Dublin West. This controversially involves moving about 13,000 people in the Swords area.
Some regard this as inconsistent with plans to further develop Swords as the capital town of county Fingal. However, it is hard to see what else the commission could have done. Giving Dublin North additional seats would have split the Blanchardstown hinterland, which is equally undesirable. Given current population trends, it is likely that Dublin North will also ultimately have to become a five seater and therefore the division of Swords is temporary.
At the outset the commission decided against increasing the number of TDs beyond 166, meaning it had to look for two seats elsewhere in the State. It found one relatively easily in Dún Laoghaire where the census justified a reduction from five to four seats and where territory could be transferred using the N11 as an obvious boundary.
The 2006 census also showed all four constituencies in the counties of Kerry and Limerick to be significantly over-represented. In the last election they had 14 seats combined whereas the population only justifies 13. Breaching county boundaries was inevitable. The choice was to transform Kerry from two three-seaters to one large five-seater or reduce Limerick East from five seats to four. The case was evenly balanced.
Kerry's population entitles it to just under 5½ seats, whereas the population of Limerick (and the bit of Clare already in Limerick East) entitles it to 7½ seats. The commission decided to take one seat from Limerick East to encompass most of the city and its suburbs leaving what was Limerick West as a three-seater including most of the county. The Limerick East boundary reflects the boundary of Limerick city and, in the long term, the reconfiguration of the two Limerick constituencies makes a lot of sense.
The Constituency Commission report received little mention in the Dáil or Seanad chambers but was the only topic of conversation in the corridors, coffee shops and bars in the Leinster House complex. People were commiserating with individuals like Niall Collins and Olwyn Enright who lost significant territory or Ciarán Cuffe whose constituency lost a seat.
Party colleagues from constituencies between which areas had been transferred exchanged intelligence about the precise political make-up of the terrain which was moving. Even those unaffected by the change sought to divine which party would benefit most from the overall redraw.
The new Fianna Fáil deputy for Meath East Thomas Byrne has to reflect on which constituency to contest next time out since a sizeable portion of his impressive vote has now been moved to Louth. His Labour rival Sen Dominic Hannigan will have a similar choice. Fiona O'Malley's options were thought to be between Dún Laoghaire and Limerick East but with both constituencies down a seat, she too will have much to ponder.
This report may be about realigning lines on a map but its consequences involve life changing decisions for some politicians.