The Dáil may see its number of TDs increase to 240 within the next three decades if the population continues to rise at the expected rate, it was reported in a recent chamber session. The independent TD, Noel Grealish, proposed setting a limit on the number of politicians in the Lower House and suggested a public vote on the issue. However, Paschal Donohoe, the Minister for Public Expenditure, mentioned the Electoral Commission’s aspiration to launch a nationwide dialogue on the subject. He personally feels the existing system “works reasonably well” and does not support “any abrupt alterations,” even though he agrees that, following Mr. Grealish’s forecasts, there would be a two TD increase annually.
According to the Constitution, each 30,000 constituents need one TD, and the upcoming general election will augment the number of Deputies from 166 to 178, reflecting the population growth. To modify this representation level would necessitate a referendum.
Mr. Grealish noted that population predictions suggest a rise to over seven million by 2057, which would result in nearly 240 TDs. He didn’t propose a precise limit, but argued that the issue should be delegated to the Electoral Commission, adding that a public vote should be held. He claimed that the existing Dáil chamber cannot accommodate an increased figure. “We would need to construct a new chamber to house the growing number of TDs and additional offices, alongside securing funding for auxiliary parliamentary personnel and support staff for each elected member. The associated costs could amount to hundreds of millions of euros,” he explained.
In a Dáil Leaders’ Questions session, he referred to remarks by Senator and ex-justice minister Michael McDowell that if the House of Commons in the UK used a similar criterion as Ireland, instead of the current 650 MPs, they would have 2,400 MPs.
The parliamentary representative for West Galway highlighted that the count of members in the UK parliament has been static for roughly fifty years. He pointed out that this proportion of MPs to the population is even lower in countries like Spain, Germany, France, and the Netherlands compared to the UK.
The representative went on to reference the 2020 referendum in Italy, which ended with a drop in parliamentary members in both factions – a development that received the backing of 70% of the voters, as evidence for the viability of such an endeavour in Ireland. He conveyed a sense of optimism that this could be mirrored here if a referendum was held.
In reflecting on the insufficient planning and poor communication that led to the failure of two previous referendums earlier in the year, he expressed that aligning Ireland’s parliamentary system with other countries’ is an issue that could be taken into consideration by the commission. He advocates for the Irish people to have the opportunity to take part in such a decision.
Afterwards, Minister Donohoe maintained that he is averse to “unrestrained growth”, but he does feel that the current level of representation in our nation largely does function well and he’d be averse to any abrupt modifications relating to it. The Minister drew attention to the fact that the Electoral Commission has declared that they’re open to examining this matter and desire to spark a national dialogue concerning it.
He stressed that as the population increases, there is a need for more representation for the larger number of individuals. He was hesitant to limit this currently.