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Split-ing headache!

Tuesday, 12 February 2008

A NORTH county Dublin action group has promised to take whatever action is necessary to prevent its town from being split into two different electoral constituencies. Residents and community groups in Swords fear they will lose a TD at the next general election if the Government agrees to proposals from the Constituency Commission to split the town into Dublin North and Dublin West. Members of the Swords Electoral Boundary Action Group believe that this move could even lead to the farcical situation of parts of Swords, such as Rivervalley and Boroimhe, being part of the Mulhuddart electoral ward for the local elections in 2009. David Gibney, chairperson of the action group, said this could have a devastating effect on schools, businesses and sports organisations in the area. He said a Government committee has been established to review local government electoral boundaries for the 2009 elections. “Part of its terms of reference is, wherever possible, to align local election boundaries with Dáil boundaries,” Mr Gibney stated. “As a result, Swords could be partitioned in two for local elections as well.” Mr Gibney said his group will be making strong representations to the Minister for the Environment, John Gormley, to reject the split proposal, and that they would be prepared to picket the minister’s office to make their point. “I don’t think many clubs and organisations in Swords realise yet how this decision by the commission will affect them,” Mr Gibney stated. “According to the 2006 Census, Swords has a total population of 33,998 and if we take into account that the average population per TD is 25,000 throughout the country, Swords undivided should be strong enough to elect a TD on its own.” However, Mr Gibney said the commission’s recommendation to move 13,000 people from Swords into Dublin West to support it, as a four-seat constituency would leave the town substantially short. “The effect this may have on Swords organisations is that their influence on politicians will be less important to TDs who could see other parts of the constituency as taking a greater priority,” he added. “It also means that schools such as Colaiste Choilm, the Loreto Convent and Holy Family Primary School in Rivervalley, along with sports clubs like St Finian’s GAA, Rivervalley Rangers and Fingal Athletic, all of whom have built strong relationships with TDs in Dublin North, will now have to start over again with Dublin West TDs.” Meanwhile, the action group is sending an information leaflet to each household in Swords, urging residents to oppose the split. Committee member Joe Newman said that only the residents’ collective action could convince the Minister and the Dáil that the commission has made a “dreadful error of judgement”. In its report released in October last year, the Constituency Commission said it recommended that Dublin West - the constituency with the largest variance from national average representation - should be allocated the additional seat to become a four-seater. It said the population in Dublin North that was in excess of what was required for its four seats should be transferred to support Dublin West as a four-seater. It proposed the transfers of 12,768 of the population in the Swords-Forrest/Airport areas to move from Dublin North to Dublin West and 9,021 of the population in the Portmarnock and Balgriffin areas to move from Dublin North to Dublin North-East. Minister Gormley is expected to make a definitive decision on the constituency boundaries later this year.