Louth (Dáil constituency)
Louth is a parliamentary constituency represented in Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Irish parliament or Oireachtas. The constituency elects 5 deputies. The method of election is the single transferable vote form of proportional representation.
History and boundaries
The constituency was created under the terms of the Electoral Act 1923, and first used at the 1923 general election. It was a 3-seat constituency from 1923 until 1977, when it was increased to 4 seats. The boundaries were last amended in October 2007 to include an area of County Meath known as East Meath adjacent to the town of Drogheda.The Report on Dáil and European Parliament Constituencies 2007 outlined "by extending the constituency southwards from, and in the environs of, Drogheda and taking in electoral divisions which have extensive linkages with the town. This will allow the inclusion of the town of Drogheda and hinterland areas in a single constituency."
The constituency spans the entire area of County Louth, the smallest county in Ireland, and East Meath, taking in Dundalk, Drogheda, Laytown-Bettystown-Mornington and Ardee.
At the 2011 general election the number of seats was increased to 5.
The Electoral Act 2013 defines the constituency as:
TDs
Electoral Division
Louth population as per Electoral Divisions, for Louth Dáil constituency. This population count relates to the number of people within the Louth county boundary, along with the electoral divisions of Julianstown, and St. Mary's in the county of Meath, as per the Electoral Act 2013.Electoral Division | Population – 2006 | Population – 2011 | Population – 2016 |
Louth | 128600 | 143272 | 150481 |
Dundalk, Co. Louth | 51758 | 56761 | 59557 |
Dundalk Town, Co. Louth | 29037 | 31149 | 32288 |
004 Dundalk Urban No. 1, Co. Louth | 2190 | 2148 | 2169 |
005 Dundalk Urban No. 2, Co. Louth | 1211 | 1169 | 1140 |
006 Dundalk Urban No. 3, Co. Louth | 1400 | 1449 | 1710 |
007 Dundalk Urban No. 4, Co. Louth | 6183 | 6039 | 5970 |
023 Castletown, Co. Louth | 2518 | 2637 | 2685 |
027 Dundalk Rural, Co. Louth | 15440 | 17620 | 18514 |
030 Haggardstown, Co. Louth | 95 | 87 | 100 |
Dundalk rural area, Co. Louth | 22721 | 25612 | 27269 |
019 Ballymascanlan, Co. Louth | 2016 | 2213 | 2206 |
020 Barronstown, Co. Louth | 647 | 744 | 746 |
021 Carlingford, Co. Louth | 1384 | 1801 | 2201 |
022 Castlering, Co. Louth | 935 | 1012 | 1034 |
023 Castletown, Co. Louth | 1421 | 1573 | 1622 |
024 Creggan Upper, Co. Louth | 684 | 787 | 852 |
025 Darver, Co. Louth | 562 | 568 | 678 |
026 Drummullagh, Co. Louth | 1120 | 1257 | 1350 |
027 Dundalk Rural, Co. Louth | 535 | 540 | 686 |
028 Faughart, Co. Louth | 905 | 991 | 958 |
029 Greenore, Co. Louth | 979 | 1169 | 1201 |
030 Haggardstown, Co. Louth | 5769 | 6303 | 6819 |
031 Jenkinstown, Co. Louth | 948 | 1173 | 1277 |
032 Killanny, Co. Louth | 683 | 799 | 825 |
033 Louth, Co. Louth | 1308 | 1505 | 1575 |
034 Mansfieldstown, Co. Louth | 640 | 807 | 855 |
035 Rathcor, Co. Louth | 1203 | 1352 | 1374 |
036 Ravensdale, Co. Louth | 982 | 1018 | 1010 |
Drogheda, Co. Louth & Co. Meath | 46306 | 48951 | 51577 |
001 Fair Gate, Co. Louth | 9783 | 9806 | 10317 |
002 St. Laurence Gate, Co. Louth | 3801 | 4004 | 4075 |
003 West Gate, Co. Louth | 5899 | 6042 | 6284 |
041 St. Peter's, Co. Louth | 3460 | 2161 | 2099 |
047 St. Mary's, Co. Louth | 6030 | 6563 | 6696 |
045 Julianstown, Co. Meath | 8289 | 9606 | 10139 |
047 St. Mary's, Co. Meath | 9044 | 10769 | 11967 |
Ardee No. 1 rural area, Co. Louth | 17976 | 20262 | 20924 |
008 Ardee Rural, Co. Louth | 2626 | 2875 | 2952 |
009 Ardee Urban, Co. Louth | 4301 | 4554 | 4917 |
010 Castlebellingham, Co. Louth | 1371 | 1617 | 1688 |
011 Clonkeen, Co. Louth | 545 | 648 | 675 |
012 Collon, Co. Louth | 1380 | 1770 | 1859 |
013 Dromin, Co. Louth | 535 | 610 | 629 |
014 Dromiskin, Co. Louth | 1935 | 2187 | 2226 |
015 Drumcar, Co. Louth | 1385 | 1526 | 1451 |
016 Dunleer, Co. Louth | 2340 | 2796 | 2868 |
017 Stabannan, Co. Louth | 590 | 620 | 619 |
018 Tallanstown, Co. Louth | 968 | 1059 | 1040 |
Louth rural area, Co. Louth | 12560 | 17298 | 18423 |
037 Clogher, Co. Louth | 2494 | 3031 | 3237 |
038 Dysart, Co. Louth | 777 | 918 | 925 |
039 Monasterboice, Co. Louth | 1164 | 1342 | 1365 |
040 Mullary, Co. Louth | 1528 | 1723 | 1754 |
041 St. Peter's, Co. Louth | 4022 | 6990 | 7605 |
042 Termonfeckin, Co. Louth | 2575 | 3294 | 3537 |