AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR THE NUMBER OF MEMBERS OF DÁIL ÉIREANN AND FOR THE REVISION OF CONSTITUENCIES AND TO AMEND THE LAW RELATING TO THE ELECTION OF SUCH MEMBERS.
The responsibility for drawing political boundaries was in the hands of the political parties and this had often been used for partisan advantage. The Minister for Local Government was directly responsible. Minister for Local Government James Tully's 1974 scheme proved to be more ambitious than most. By radically redrawing the boundaries in the Greater Dublin Area, creating a large number of three member constituencies rather than 4 or 5 member constituencies, it was hoped to capitalise on the relative weakness of the main opposition party Fianna Fáil in the capital. The hope was that both Fine Gael and Labour would win one seat each, leaving Fianna Fáil with a solitary seat in each constituency. This plan however relied on the Fianna Fáil vote remaining below the 40% mark in the Dublin area. In the event of it passing that figure, the danger was that Fianna Fáil could win two seats in each constituency even though other parties would have had a combined 60% of the vote. In practice, this is exactly what happened at the 1977 general election and the Tullymander scheme backfired.
A minor aspect of the constituency redrawing concerned the boundary of the constituencies of Meath and Louth. The Meath constituency had seen a population boom in the 1970s, as a result of improved economic performance. Therefore, an extra seat was to be expected. Tully himself was resident in Laytown at the time, and he tried to align the boundary of the Meath constituency so as to get extra votes from nearby expanding Drogheda included in Meath, and thereby bring in a second Labour TD in Meath.
Aftermathedit
The failure of this partisan scheme led to the creation of an independent Constituency Commission, chaired by a judge, starting with a special commission in 1980 under Justice Brian Walsh. The 1974 Act was repealed by the Electoral (Amendment) Act 1980, which created a new schedule of constituencies first used at the general election for the 22nd Dáil held on 11 June 1981.[3]
From 1997, the Constituency Commission was put on a statutory basis to manage constituency boundary revisions with set terms of reference.[4] An independent commission was constituted after each population census under the chairpersonship of a judge of the High Court or Supreme Court to define constituencies in light of changing demographics.
In 2023, the powers of the Commission were absorbed by the newly established Electoral Commission.[5][6]
^Electoral (Amendment) Act 1974 (No. 7 of 1974). Enacted on 7 May 1974. Act of the Oireachtas. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 8 November 2021.
^Electoral (Amendment) Act 1974, s. 8: Repeal (No. 7 of 1974, s. 8). Enacted on 7 May 1974. Act of the Oireachtas. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 8 November 2021.
^"An Coimisiún Toghcháin (The Electoral Commission) is formally established on a statutory footing". Government of Ireland (Press release). Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. 9 February 2023. from the original on 9 February 2023. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
^Electoral (Amendment) Act 1974, Schedule: Constituencies (No. 7 of 1974, Schedule). Enacted on 7 May 1974. Act of the Oireachtas. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 8 November 2021.
External linksedit
Summary of boundary revisions
December 18, 2023
electoral, amendment, 1974, ireland, which, revised, dáil, constituencies, review, parliamentary, constituencies, passed, ireland, governing, fine, gael, labour, party, national, coalition, intended, secure, their, election, instead, backfired, disastrously, r. The Electoral Amendment Act 1974 No 7 was a law in Ireland which revised Dail constituencies 1 It was a review of parliamentary constituencies passed in Ireland by the governing Fine Gael Labour Party National Coalition It was intended to secure their re election but instead backfired disastrously resulting in a landslide victory for their main opponents in Fianna Fail Consequently the word Tullymander combining the name of the minister James Tully with the word gerrymander was coined Electoral Amendment Act 1974OireachtasLong title AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR THE NUMBER OF MEMBERS OF DAIL EIREANN AND FOR THE REVISION OF CONSTITUENCIES AND TO AMEND THE LAW RELATING TO THE ELECTION OF SUCH MEMBERS CitationNo 7 of 1974Signed7 May 1974Commenced7 May 1974 amp 25 May 1977Repealed21 May 1981Legislative historyBill citationNo 3 of 1973Introduced byMinister for Local Government James Tully Introduced28 March 1973RepealsElectoral Amendment Act 1969Repealed byElectoral Amendment Act 1980Status RepealedIt repealed the Electoral Amendment Act 1969 which had defined constituencies since the 1969 general election 2 Contents 1 Background 2 Aftermath 3 Summary table of boundary changes 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksBackground editThe responsibility for drawing political boundaries was in the hands of the political parties and this had often been used for partisan advantage The Minister for Local Government was directly responsible Minister for Local Government James Tully s 1974 scheme proved to be more ambitious than most By radically redrawing the boundaries in the Greater Dublin Area creating a large number of three member constituencies rather than 4 or 5 member constituencies it was hoped to capitalise on the relative weakness of the main opposition party Fianna Fail in the capital The hope was that both Fine Gael and Labour would win one seat each leaving Fianna Fail with a solitary seat in each constituency This plan however relied on the Fianna Fail vote remaining below the 40 mark in the Dublin area In the event of it passing that figure the danger was that Fianna Fail could win two seats in each constituency even though other parties would have had a combined 60 of the vote In practice this is exactly what happened at the 1977 general election and the Tullymander scheme backfired A minor aspect of the constituency redrawing concerned the boundary of the constituencies of Meath and Louth The Meath constituency had seen a population boom in the 1970s as a result of improved economic performance Therefore an extra seat was to be expected Tully himself was resident in Laytown at the time and he tried to align the boundary of the Meath constituency so as to get extra votes from nearby expanding Drogheda included in Meath and thereby bring in a second Labour TD in Meath Aftermath editThe failure of this partisan scheme led to the creation of an independent Constituency Commission chaired by a judge starting with a special commission in 1980 under Justice Brian Walsh The 1974 Act was repealed by the Electoral Amendment Act 1980 which created a new schedule of constituencies first used at the general election for the 22nd Dail held on 11 June 1981 3 From 1997 the Constituency Commission was put on a statutory basis to manage constituency boundary revisions with set terms of reference 4 An independent commission was constituted after each population census under the chairpersonship of a judge of the High Court or Supreme Court to define constituencies in light of changing demographics In 2023 the powers of the Commission were absorbed by the newly established Electoral Commission 5 6 Summary table of boundary changes edit1973 constituency 7 No of seats 1977 constituency 8 No of seatsCarlow Kilkenny 5 Carlow Kilkenny 5Cavan 3 Cavan Monaghan 5Monaghan 3Clare 3 Clare 3Clare South Galway 3 Galway East 4Galway North East 3Galway West 3 Galway West 4Cork Mid 4 Cork Mid 5Cork City North West 3 Cork City 5Cork City South East 3Cork North East 4 Cork North East 4Cork South West 3 Cork South West 3Donegal North East 3 Donegal 5Donegal Leitrim 3Dublin County North 4 Dublin County North 3Dublin County Mid 3Dublin County West 3Dublin County South 3 Dublin County South 3Dublin North West 4 Dublin Finglas 3Dublin North East 4 Dublin Clontarf 3Dublin Artane 3Dublin North Central 4 Dublin North Central 3Dublin Central 4 Dublin Cabra 3Dublin South Central 4 Dublin South Central 3Dublin South West 4 Dublin Rathmines West 3Dublin Ballyfermot 3Dublin South East 3 Dublin South East 3Dun Laoghaire and Rathdown 4 Dun Laoghaire 4Kerry North 3 Kerry North 3Kerry South 3 Kerry South 3Kildare 3 Kildare 3Laoighis Offaly 5 Laoighis Offaly 5Limerick East 4 Limerick East 4Limerick West 3 Limerick West 3Longford Westmeath 4 Longford Westmeath 4Louth 3 Louth 4Mayo East 3 Mayo East 3Mayo West 3 Mayo West 3Meath 3 Meath 3Roscommon Leitrim 3 Roscommon Leitrim 3Sligo Leitrim 3 Sligo Leitrim 4Tipperary North 3 Tipperary North 3Tipperary South 4 Tipperary South 3Waterford 3 Waterford 4Wexford 4 Wexford 4Wicklow 3 Wicklow 3See also editElections in the Republic of IrelandReferences edit Electoral Amendment Act 1974 No 7 of 1974 Enacted on 7 May 1974 Act of the Oireachtas Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 8 November 2021 Electoral Amendment Act 1974 s 8 Repeal No 7 of 1974 s 8 Enacted on 7 May 1974 Act of the Oireachtas Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 8 November 2021 Electoral Amendment Act 1980 s 8 Repeals No 17 of 1980 s 8 Enacted on 1 July 1980 Act of the Oireachtas Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 8 November 2021 Constituency Commission Report Constituency Commission Electoral Reform Act 2022 Establishment Day Order 2023 S I No 31 of 2023 Signed on 8 February 2023 by Darragh O Brien Minister for Housing Local Government and Heritage Statutory Instrument of the Government of Ireland Retrieved from Irish Statute Book An Coimisiun Toghchain The Electoral Commission is formally established on a statutory footing Government of Ireland Press release Department of Housing Local Government and Heritage 9 February 2023 Archived from the original on 9 February 2023 Retrieved 10 February 2023 Electoral Amendment Act 1969 Schedule Constituencies No 3 of 1969 Schedule Enacted on 26 March 1969 Act of the Oireachtas Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 8 November 2021 Electoral Amendment Act 1974 Schedule Constituencies No 7 of 1974 Schedule Enacted on 7 May 1974 Act of the Oireachtas Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 8 November 2021 External links editSummary of boundary revisions Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Electoral Amendment Act 1974 amp oldid 1172978775, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
