Clare has been re-united for general elections.
Thousands of voters in the south-east of the county who’ve been voting in Limerick in recent years will now cast their ballots with the rest of the Banner, in a move which could have a major bearing on local politics.
Clare FM’s Fiona McGarry reports:
Just under 6,000 people live in the Ballyglass electoral division, which includes Westbury, Parteen and Ardnacrusha.
In recent general elections, they’ve cast their ballots in Limerick City, and have been represented by Limerick TDs, but going forward this part of Clare is to vote with the rest of the county.
This is the recommendation of the Constituency Commission, who published their report last night.
They’ve advocated this change in Clare because population numbers mean the former Clare constituency would have been over-represented under the new number of TDs, namely 160.
On the ground, it means a significant shift in local politics as a large bloc of voters join the Clare constituency, a factor which will have to be borne in mind by local TDs and their parties.
The county will continue to elect four TDs, with the additional representatives coming in Dublin Central, Kildare South and Cavan Monaghan – Offaly and Laois are to be merged.
