Constitutional Referendum on the Number of Members of Dáil Éireann: Motion
Seanad Éireann — 2026-03-25
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Conor Murphy (SF), Industrial and Commercial Panel

I welcome the opportunity to debate this issue. Democratic mandate is important, and people should be represented equally in the exercise of democratic process. Article 16.2.4° of the Constitution states:
The Oireachtas shall revise the constituencies at least once in every twelve years, with due regard to changes in distribution of the population, but any alterations in the constituencies shall not take effect during the life of Dáil Éireann sitting when such revision is made.
If that provision is applied to the premise of this motion, then it is my understanding that the numbers in the Dáil may not be expanded in 2027 because the mandate of the current Oireachtas runs to 2029.
There has undoubtedly been a growth in population and there have been demographic shifts. The Central Statistics Office has projected that the census in 2027 will show population growth. There are many reasons offered for the growth in population and the potential demographic alterations which will require consideration in terms of the future ratio between elected representatives and population. One of the biggest demographic changes on the horizon, indicated in the data from the 2022 census, which was collated on an all-island basis, is that the total population of the island of Ireland is approximately 7.1 million. This was the first time the population exceeded 7 million since 1851. We have a proposition and a policy objective of securing a unity referendum by 2030. Of course, in the event of any successful unity referendum, under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement, both the British and Irish Governments would be obliged to legislate to give effect to the result of that referendum. That would, of course, include the electorate of the Six Counties being facilitated in terms of participation in a national Parliament in the event of a successful referendum. In terms of the consideration the Government gives to this matter in the time ahead, it should give examine it in the context of the broader national question, which is very much on the horizon and which will have a significantly bigger impact in terms of demographic changes and the numbers that may be entitled to elect people to a national Parliament.
Senator Boyhan and I were fortunate enough to hear a presentation in the audiovisual room from three people from a Protestant-unionist community in the North about the prospects of constitutional change and their impatience with the Government not getting on with the planning for that. They referenced a broad view within their community in this regard. They have effectively debunked the Taoiseach's notion that a prerequisite for any consideration of constitutional change or, indeed, preparation for it is reconciliation. They made a very clear argument that these are both the same pathway and should be followed. In its consideration of this motion, which is has merit in terms of consideration and which clearly recognises the changes that lie on the horizon, I urge the Government to also give consideration to the national question and to the preparation that will be required in relation to unity, the consequences of a successful unity referendum and what these will mean for national democracy.

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Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted.

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