Constitutional Referendum on the Number of Members of Dáil Éireann: Motion
Seanad Éireann — 2026-03-25
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Michael McDowell (IND), National University of Ireland

I move:
“That Seanad Éireann:
- conscious of the provisions of Article 46.2 of the Constitution which require that any Bill to amend the Constitution must be initiated in Dáil Éireann;
- conscious of the present constitutional requirement that Dáil Éireann should be comprised of at least one member for every 30,000 in the State’s population, as distinct from citizens;
- aware that the current population of the State is 5.458 million persons;
- conscious that the population of the State is projected to grow to more than 5.56 million in the next two years; and
- conscious of the likelihood that Dáil Éireann may have to be enlarged to between 181 members and 185 members in 2027;
calls on the Government to initiate legislation to amend Article 16.2.2 to specify the number of members of Dáil Éireann.”
I propose to share time with Senator Craughwell, 12 minutes and four minutes, if that is agreeable.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-03-25/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:46+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-03-25