Electoral (Amendment) Act 1947

The Electoral (Amendment) Act 1947 (No. 31) was a law in Ireland which revised Dáil constituencies. The new constituencies were first used for the 13th Dáil, elected at the 1948 general election on 4 February 1948.

Electoral (Amendment) Act 1947
Oireachtas
  • AN ACT TO FIX THE NUMBER OF MEMBERS OF DAIL EIREANN AND TO REVISE THEIR CONSTITUENCIES AND TO AMEND THE LAW RELATING TO THE ELECTION OF SUCH MEMBERS.
CitationNo. 31 of 1947
Signed27 November 1947
Commenced27 November 1947 & 18 February 1948
Repealed15 September 1961
Legislative history
Bill citationNo. 34 of 1947
Introduced byMinister for Local Government (Seán McEntee)
Introduced4 July 1947
Amends
Electoral Act 1923
Repeals
Electoral (Revision of Constituencies) Act 1935
Repealed by
Electoral (Amendment) Act 1961
Status: Repealed

This Act repealed the Electoral (Revision of Constituencies) Act 1935, which defined the constituencies since the 1937 general election. It also increased the number of seats in the Dáil by 9 from 138 to 147. It was used at the 1951, 1954 and 1957 general elections.

The 1947 revision was repealed by the Electoral (Amendment) Act 1961, which created a new schedule of constituencies first used at the 1961 general election for the 17th Dáil.[1]

Background

In 1947 the rapid rise of new party Clann na Poblachta threatened the position of the governing party Fianna Fáil. The government of Éamon de Valera introduced the Act, which increased the size of the Dáil from 138 to 147 and increased the number of three-seat constituencies from fifteen to twenty-two. The result was described by the journalist and historian Tim Pat Coogan as "a blatant attempt at gerrymander which no Six County Unionist could have bettered".[2] The following February, at the 1948 general election, Clann na Poblachta secured ten seats instead of the nineteen they would have received proportional to their national vote.[2] No Dáil constituency has had more than five seats since 1948. The Constitutional Convention's 2013 recommendation to increase proportionality by having larger constituencies was rejected by the Fine Gael–Labour government on the grounds that "the three, four or five seat Dáil constituency arrangement has served the State well since 1948".[3]

Constituencies 1948–1961

Key to columns
  • Constituency: The name of the constituency. Compass points follow the area name in this list, which was not always the case in the official version of the name.
  • Created: The year of the election when a constituency of the same name was first defined.
  • Seats: The number of TDs elected from the constituency under the Act.
  • Change: Change in the number of seats since the last distribution of seats (which took effect in 1937).
Constituency[4] Created Seats Change
Borough constituencies
Cork 1921 5 + 1
Dublin North (Central) 1948 3 + 3
Dublin North (East) 1937 5 + 2
Dublin North (West) 1921 3 − 2
Dublin South (Central) 1948 5 + 5
Dublin South-East 1948 3 + 5
Dublin South-West 1948 5 + 5
County constituencies
Carlow–Kilkenny 1948 5 + 5
Cavan 1921 4 none
Clare 1921 4 − 1
Cork East 1948 3 + 3
Cork North 1923 3 − 1
Cork South 1948 3 + 3
Cork West 1923 3 − 2
Donegal East 1937 4 none
Donegal West 1937 3 none
Dublin County 1921 3 − 2
Dún Laoghaire and Rathdown 1948 3 + 3
Galway North 1948 3 + 3
Galway South 1948 3 + 3
Galway West 1937 3 none
Kerry North 1937 4 none
Kerry South 1937 3 none
Kildare 1948 3 + 3
Leix–Offaly 1921 5 none
Limerick East 1948 4 + 4
Limerick West 1948 3 + 3
Longford–Westmeath 1948 5 + 5
Louth 1923 3 none
Mayo North 1923 3 none
Mayo South 1923 4 − 1
Meath 1948 3 + 3
Monaghan 1921 3 none
Roscommon 1923 4 + 1
Sligo–Leitrim 1948 5 + 5
Tipperary North 1948 3 + 3
Tipperary South 1948 4 + 4
Waterford 1923 4 none
Wexford 1921 5 none
Wicklow 1923 3 none

Summary of changes

This list summarises the changes in representation. It does not address revisions to the boundaries of constituencies.

Constituency Created Seats Change
Athlone–Longford 1937 3 abolished
Carlow–Kildare 1937 3 abolished
Carlow–Kilkenny 1948 5 new constituency
Clare 1921 4 loses 1 seat
Cork Borough 1921 5 gains 1 seat
Cork East 1948 3 new constituency
Cork North 1923 3 loses 1 seat
Cork South 1948 3 new constituency
Cork South-East 1937 3 abolished
Cork West 1923 3 loses 2 seats
Dublin County 1921 3 loses 2 seats
Dublin North (Central) 1948 3 new constituency
Dublin North (East) 1937 5 gains 2 seats
Dublin North (West) 1921 3 loses 2 seats
Dublin South 1921 7 abolished
Dublin South (Central) 1948 5 new constituency
Dublin South-East 1948 3 new constituency
Dublin South-West 1948 5 new constituency
Dublin Townships 1937 3 abolished
Dún Laoghaire and Rathdown 1948 3 new constituency
Galway East 1937 4 abolished
Galway North 1948 3 new constituency
Galway South 1948 3 new constituency
Kildare 1948 3 new constituency
Kilkenny 1937 3 abolished
Leitrim 1937 3 abolished
Limerick 1923 7 abolished
Limerick East 1948 4 new constituency
Limerick West 1948 3 new constituency
Longford–Westmeath 1948 5 new constituency
Mayo South 1923 4 loses 1 seat
Meath 1948 3 new constituency
Meath–Westmeath 1937 5 abolished
Roscommon 1923 4 gains 1 seat
Sligo 1937 3 abolished
Sligo–Leitrim 1948 5 new constituency
Tipperary 1923 7 abolished
Tipperary North 1948 3 new constituency
Tipperary South 1948 4 new constituency

See also

References

  1. Electoral (Amendment) Act 1961, s. 9: Repeals (No. 19 of 1961, s. 9). Enacted on 14 July 1961. Act of the Oireachtas. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 29 December 2021.
  2. Coogan, Tim Pat (1993). De Valera: Long Fellow, Long Shadow. London: Hutchinson. p. 637. ISBN 0-09-175030-X.
  3. "Fourth Report of the Constitutional Convention on the Dáil Electoral System: Statements (Continued)". Dáil Éireann debates. Oireachtas. 18 December 2014. pp. no.47. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  4. Electoral (Amendment) Act 1947, 1st Sch.: Constituencies (No. 31 of 1947, 1st Sch.). Enacted on 27 November 1947. Act of the Oireachtas. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 19 November 2021.
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