Part of Carlow may leave constituency
THE Constituency Commission has recommended moving part of East Carlow from the Wicklow constituency to the constituency of Carlow and Kilkenny.
The Commission was set up on July 2016 following the publication, by the Central Statistics Office, of ‘Census of Population 2016 Preliminary Results’ and was required to present its report not later than three months after the publication by the CSO of the final result of the 2016 Census.
The final results for Census 2016 were published in April of this year.
The commission recommends that the entire county of Carlow with the entire county of Kilkenny should form a five seat constituency.
The entire county of Wicklow should form a stand-alone five seat constituency.
Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture and Wicklow TD, Andrew Doyle, feels the recommendation will be positive for those living in the area.
‘The Constituency Commission report and recommendations reflect the changing population demographic in all constituencies across the country; in this case counties Wicklow, Carlow and Kilkenny are relevant. The Commission relies on statistics as recorded in last year’s census and, as such are considered to be the most appropriate basis upon which they recommend changes to constituency boundaries.
‘The division in Carlow has caused confusion amongst constituents and presented geographical challenges for local representatives in the past.
‘For this reason, I felt it was necessary to establish a constituency office in Hacketstown, ensuring that those living in the East Carlow area did not have to travel too far to seek help or advice,’ said Minister of State Doyle.