I welcome the Constituency Review Report with particular reference to the Cavan/Monaghan constituency.

I made a detailed submission to the Commission last May stressing the need to retain the entirety of both counties of Cavan and Monaghan as one constituency.

I also proposed that the part of North Meath, in our constituency at present, should be returned to County Meath for electoral purposes.  The 2022 Census clearly showed that we had sufficient population in Cavan/Monaghan to retain a 5 seat constituency on our own. 

A large part of West and South Cavan was transferred to the Sligo/Leitrim/Donegal constituency in the 2012 boundary review.  After the publication of the census of population in 2017 I led a campaign, strongly supported by The Anglo-Celt and local organisations, to have Cavan reunited as one unit with County Monaghan for Dáil constituency purposes. 

That campaign was successful and I strongly believe that there should be minimal breaching of county boundaries.  My submission to this Commission strongly emphasised the need to retain Cavan/Monaghan as one unit for constituency purposes and again I outlined that many public services are delivered on this two county configuration.  Over the years there has far too often been breaching of county boundaries often resulting in communities feeling disenfranchised.

30/08/2023