Redrawing of Limerick constituencies ‘a disaster’

LIMERICK’S three electoral constituencies have been radically revised with 13,146 voters being transferred to the constituency of Kerry North under controversial recommendations made to the Government yesterday.

Last night, opposition and Government TDs alike criticised the changes which will see the county lose a seat and transfer thousands of voters to the neighbouring county of Kerry.

The constituency of Limerick East, which is to be renamed Limerick City, will decrease from a five-seater to a four-seater, according to the Constituency Commission’s report published yesterday.

The constituency will lose 17,242 of its rural population to the constituency of Limerick West, which will be renamed Limerick.

Following on from the controversial decision in 2004 to split Leitrim between Sligo and Roscommon, 13,146 voters in Limerick West are to be moved to the newly titled constituency of Kerry North West-Limerick.

Last night, Fianna Fáil’s Niall Collins in Limerick West said he was “very concerned” at the breaching of the county boundary of Limerick. Members of the public were yesterday contacting his offices to express concern at losing their voting identity with Limerick

“Limerick, which is losing a TD, has been used as the stopgap of the entire exercise. The commission has flown entirely in the face of its own terms of reference by breaching the county boundaries,” he said.

“From my own point of view I’m losing approximately 3,500 first preference supporters, which for a first-time TD is quite significant.”

His constituency colleague John Cregan described the move as a “disaster”.

“There was an expectation that Kerry would go down from a six-seater to a five-seater. Instead, it’s Limerick which will make up the numbers for Kerry so it can hold its six seats,” he said. “It’s going to be a big change. I’m losing 13,000 voters I’m familiar with. It’s of huge concern because there are people who live three miles away from me who are going to have to travel to Tralee to see a TD.”

The changes could also discourage PD Senator Fiona O’Malley, who is thought to be considering contesting Limerick East. Her former constituency of Dun Laoghaire has also lost a seat under the review, making her return to the Dáil a mammoth task.

Sinn Féin’s Martin Ferris, Fianna Fáil’s Tom McEllistrim and Fine Gael’s Jimmy Deenihan will lose 5,098 voters in Kerry North but gain 13,146 voters for the next general election.

Last night, the poll-topper in Kerry North, Jimmy Deenihan, said the addition of West Limerick voters represented a “major challenge”. However, he stressed that the two constituencies have a lot in common with regard to agriculture and the Shannon estuary.

“But I accept that the people of West Limerick are going to be more inconvenienced than the people of North Kerry,” he said.

In the newly titled constituency of Limerick City, formerly Limerick East, Labour’s Jan O’Sullivan said the transfer of voters to Kerry North was “not a good principle”.