Surprise fifth seat added to Louth

THE addition of a fifth seat to the Louth constituency was the biggest surprise in what was otherwise considered a conservative report by the Constituency Commission.

It was expected — indeed by prominent Louth TDs — the constituency would remain a four-seater and might indeed cede some territory to Cavan-Monaghan.

If any of the constituencies was to gain a seat, it would have to be the new three-seater of Meath East, which was already an astonishing 13.8% above the national average population per TD — attributed to a population boom of long-distance commuters to Dublin in recent years.