No ‘East Meath’ addition to the Louth constituency name

SENATOR Ged Nash has expressed his disappointment that the government has rejected an amendment in the Seanad to the 2017 Dail Constituencies Bill that would have seen the title of the Louth Dail constituency change to ‘Louth & East Meath.’

“Three separate boundary commission reports since 2007 have recommended that the Louth Dail constituency should include significant parts of the Meath coastal area such as Laytown, Bettystown and Mornington and the urban areas in Drogheda, Co. Meath which are contiguous to Drogheda town, Co. Louth,’ he stated.

“This arrangement is working well and the recent boundary commission report recommends that the status quo should remain.

“I have always been of the firm view that the title of the constituency should reflect the geographic reality of its make-up and local affiliations and affinities.

“We know that county loyalties run deep in Ireland. As a significant part of the population of East Meath prepares to vote in their third successive election in the constituency of Louth, it is only right that the title of the constituency should be amended to “Louth & East Meath” in order to reflect the county-based identities of a sizeable proportion of the electorate in the Laytown, Bettystown, Mornington, Donacarney and Julianstown areas.

“While the work of the Commission is independent, as it should be, there was nothing preventing the government from accepting a common-sense amendment on the name of the constituency. ‘