Letters

European election constituencies

Sprawling constituencies and odd boundaries

Letters to the Editor. Illustration: Paul Scott
The Irish Times - Letters to the Editor.
Wed Jun 05 2024 - 00:09

Sir, – As someone who resides a mere 10 minutes from the Irish Sea beaches at Laytown and Bettystown, and whose job is based within the M50, I find myself described as Midlands/North West, despite geographically having nothing to do with either.

A redrafting of the Dublin constituency boundaries to include the commuter zone is a must for the next election rather than the frankly bizarre decision to exclude people in Leixlip, Bray, Clonee or Drogheda from the Dublin constituency, which implies that we have more in common with the concerns of voters in Sligo or Kerry than Dublin, which is an insult to all parties involved. – Yours, etc,

RORY J WHELAN,

Drogheda,

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Co Meath.

Sir, – Is it time to seriously consider single-seat constituencies for European elections? It is a reform spoken about previously by a few prominent politicians but never advanced for serious consideration.

Beyond the Dublin one, the constituencies are far too large geographically for voters to identify with their MEPs. The democratic deficit, long associated with the European Parliament, is exacerbated by the current alignment of constituencies. A single-seat constituency could retain the proportional representation transferable vote in a similar way to Dáil byelections. Unlike a Dáil election, there is no constitutional barrier for the Oireachtas to legislate for single-seat constituencies.

The political elite, by their nature, are conservative in terms of institutional change, particularly in regard to electoral systems, but there may be a better turnout if voters could identify with their constituency in a single-seat arrangement, and the European Parliament may not appear to be so remote from people’s lives as it does at present. – Yours, etc,

KIERAN COUGHLAN,

Crosshaven,

Co Cork.