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A local electoral area (LEA; Irish: toghlimistéar áitiúil) is an electoral area for elections to local authorities in Ireland. All elections use the single transferable vote. The Republic of Ireland is divided into 166 LEAs, with an average population of 28,700 and average area of 423.3 square kilometres (163.4 sq mi). The boundaries of LEAs are determined by order of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, usually based on lower-level units called electoral divisions (EDs), with a total of 3,440 EDs in the state.

As well as their use for electoral purposes, LEAs are local administrative units in Eurostat NUTS classification. They are used in local numbers of cases of COVID-19.

Municipal districts

A municipal district (Irish: ceantar bardasach) is a division of a local authority which can exercise certain powers of the local authority. They came into being on 1 June 2014, ten days after the local elections, under the provisions of the Local Government Reform Act 2014. Of the 31 local authorities, 25 are subdivided into municipal districts, which comprise one or more LEA. The exceptions are the three city councils (Cork City, Dublin City and Galway City) and the three county councils in Dublin (Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Fingal and South Dublin). A district associated with a city or borough is termed a metropolitan district (ceantar cathrach) or borough district (ceantar buirge) respectively.

In 2019, John Paul Phelan, Minister of State for Local Government and Electoral Reform, commented in the Dáil:

Municipal districts have an extensive list of functions currently, but the situation is haphazard ... some local authorities are better at performing some functions than others. I have found that some local authorities have a strong municipal district structure, with the districts being where most of the nitty-gritty work of local authorities is done, be it roads, footpaths or lights. Some do not have that structure, though, with decisions rehashed or debated again at the councils' plenary sessions.

Boundary changes

Boundaries for local electoral areas and municipal district are determined by statutory instrument of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage. The Minister must first request the Electoral Commission to prepare a report. The minister must have regard to this report in making any changes.

Prior to the establishment of the Electoral Commission in 2023, recommendations on local electoral boundary changes were made by an independent boundary committee established for that purpose. A boundary committee has been required since 1994 for electoral areas. The 2012–13 Local Electoral Area Boundary Committee considered both administrative areas (municipal districts, though not counties/cities) and electoral areas. In 2015, separate committees were set up to consider adjustments to county and municipal boundaries passing through each of four urban areas: Athlone, Carlow, Drogheda, and Waterford. A Boundary Committee established in 2017 and which reported in June 2018 recommended alterations to municipal districts and local electoral areas which were implemented in December 2018.

Current LEAs

Below are the districts and local electoral areas as defined by the most recent SI in each case and which were used at the 2019 local elections. The minister ultimately did not alter the areas for the 2024 local elections. Unless otherwise specified, districts are titled "Municipal District of Carlow", etc.

See also

• Counties of Ireland
• Dáil constituencies

References

1. "Fógraíonn an tAire Sláinte Stephen Donnelly TD eolas áitiúil nua atá ag dul beo ar Mhol Sonraí COVID-19". www.gov.ie. 19 September 2020. Archived from the original on 16 January 2021. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
2. "Correspondence between the NUTS levels and the national administrative units". Eurostat. 11 June 2020. Archived from the original on 14 January 2022. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
3. "Minister Donnelly announces new local information going live on the COVID-19 Data Hub". www.gov.ie. 19 September 2020. Archived from the original on 20 February 2021. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
4. Wicklow Municipal District (19 October 2015). "Agenda" (PDF). Wicklow County Council. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 May 2019. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
5. "Local Government Reform". Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government. Archived from the original on 19 October 2016. Retrieved 28 January 2014.
6. Local Government Reform Act 2014 (2014 Establishment Day) Order 2014 (S.I. No. 215 of 2014). Signed on 22 May 2014. Statutory Instrument of the Government of Ireland. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book.
7. "Revised Acts". revisedacts.lawreform.ie. Archived from the original on 29 August 2021. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
8. Phelan, John Paul (23 January 2019). "Local Government Bill 2018: From the Seanad". Dáil Éireann (32nd Dáil) debates. Oireachtas. Archived from the original on 12 February 2023. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
9. Local Government Reform Act 2014, s. 19: Municipal districts (No. 1 of 2014, s. 19). Enacted on 27 January 2014. Act of the Oireachtas. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book.
10. Electoral Reform Act 2022, s. 60: Local electoral area boundary review functions (No. 30 of 2022, s. 60). Enacted on 25 July 2022. Act of the Oireachtas. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book.
11. Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (8 January 2021). "General Scheme of the Electoral Reform Bill 2020". Government of Ireland. pp. 57–59. Archived from the original on 9 January 2021. Retrieved 11 January 2021.; O'Halloran, Marie (30 December 2020). "Election regulator on horizon as Government approves proposals". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 20 January 2021. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
12. Local Government Act 1994, s. 24: Local electoral areas (No. 8 of 1994, s. 24). Enacted on 29 April 1994. Act of the Oireachtas. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 27 January 2014.
13. ^ Local Electoral Area Boundary Committee (30 May 2013). Report 2013 (PDF). Dublin: Stationery Office. pp. 13–14. ISBN 978-1-4064-2767-7. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
14. "Minister Alan Kelly Appoints Groups to Review Local Government Boundaries in Drogheda/Athlone/Waterford/Carlow". News. Department of the Environment, Community & Local Government. 19 June 2015. Archived from the original on 5 July 2018. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
15. "Local Elections – Questions (267)". Oireachtas. 28 February 2023. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
16. County of Carlow Local Electoral Areas and Municipal Districts Order 2018 (S.I. No. 610 of 2018). Signed on 19 December 2018. Statutory Instrument of the Government of Ireland. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book.
17. County of Cavan Local Electoral Areas and Municipal Districts Order 2018 (S.I. No. 611 of 2018). Signed on 19 December 2018. Statutory Instrument of the Government of Ireland. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book.
18. County of Clare Local Electoral Areas and Municipal Districts Order 2018 (S.I. No. 612 of 2018). Signed on 19 December 2018. Statutory Instrument of the Government of Ireland. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book.
19. City of Cork Local Electoral Areas Order 2019 (S.I. No. 27 of 2019). Signed on 31 January 2019. Statutory Instrument of the Government of Ireland. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book.
20. County Of Cork Local Electoral Areas And Municipal Districts Order 2019 (S.I. No. 28 of 2019). Signed on 31 January 2019. Statutory Instrument of the Government of Ireland. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book.
21. County of Donegal Local Electoral Areas and Municipal Districts Order 2018 (S.I. No. 613 of 2018). Signed on 19 December 2018. Statutory Instrument of the Government of Ireland. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book.
22. City of Dublin Local Electoral Areas Order 2018 (S.I. No. 614 of 2018). Signed on 19 December 2018. Statutory Instrument of the Government of Ireland. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book.
23. County of Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown Local Electoral Areas Order 2018 (S.I. No. 615 of 2018). Signed on 19 December 2018. Statutory Instrument of the Government of Ireland. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book.
24. County of Fingal Local Electoral Areas Order 2018 (S.I. No. 616 of 2018). Signed on 19 December 2018. Statutory Instrument of the Government of Ireland. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book.
25. City of Galway Local Electoral Areas Order 2018 (S.I. No. 617 of 2018). Signed on 19 December 2018. Statutory Instrument of the Government of Ireland. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book.
26. County of Galway Local Electoral Areas and Municipal Districts Order 2018 (S.I. No. 618 of 2018). Signed on 19 December 2018. Statutory Instrument of the Government of Ireland. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book.
27. County of Kerry Local Electoral Areas and Municipal Districts Order 2018 (S.I. No. 619 of 2018). Signed on 19 December 2018. Statutory Instrument of the Government of Ireland. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book.
28. County of Kildare Local Electoral Areas and Municipal Districts Order 2018 (S.I. No. 620 of 2018). Signed on 19 December 2018. Statutory Instrument of the Government of Ireland. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book.
29. County of Kilkenny Local Electoral Areas and Municipal Districts Order 2018 (S.I. No. 621 of 2018). Signed on 19 December 2018. Statutory Instrument of the Government of Ireland. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book.
30. County of Laois Local Electoral Areas and Municipal Districts Order 2018 (S.I. No. 622 of 2018). Signed on 19 December 2018. Statutory Instrument of the Government of Ireland. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book.
31. County of Leitrim Local Electoral Areas and Municipal Districts Order 2018 (S.I. No. 623 of 2018). Signed on 19 December 2018. Statutory Instrument of the Government of Ireland. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book.
32. City and County of Limerick Local Electoral Areas and Municipal Districts Order 2018 (S.I. No. 624 of 2018). Signed on 19 December 2018. Statutory Instrument of the Government of Ireland. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book.
33. County of Longgford Local Electoral Areas and Municipal Districts Order 2018 (S.I. No. 625 of 2018). Signed on 19 December 2018. Statutory Instrument of the Government of Ireland. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book.
34. County of Louth Local Electoral Areas and Municipal Districts Order 2018 (S.I. No. 626 of 2018). Signed on 19 December 2018. Statutory Instrument of the Government of Ireland. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book.
35. County Of Louth Local Electoral Areas And Municipal Districts (Amendment) Order 2019 (S.I. No. 6 of 2019). Signed on 17 January 2019. Statutory Instrument of the Government of Ireland. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book.
36. County of Mayo Local Electoral Areas and Municipal Districts Order 2018 (S.I. No. 627 of 2018). Signed on 19 December 2018. Statutory Instrument of the Government of Ireland. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book.
37. County of Meath Local Electoral Areas and Municipal Districts Order 2018 (S.I. No. 628 of 2018). Signed on 19 December 2018. Statutory Instrument of the Government of Ireland. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book.
38. County Of Meath Local Electoral Areas And Municipal Districts (Amendment) Order 2019 (S.I. No. 8 of 2019). Signed on 17 January 2019. Statutory Instrument of the Government of Ireland. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book.
39. County of Monaghan Local Electoral Areas and Municipal Districts Order 2018 (S.I. No. 629 of 2018). Signed on 19 December 2018. Statutory Instrument of the Government of Ireland. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book.
40. County of Offaly Local Electoral Areas and Municipal Districts Order 2018 (S.I. No. 630 of 2018). Signed on 19 December 2018. Statutory Instrument of the Government of Ireland. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book.
41. County of Roscommon Local Electoral Areas and Municipal Districts Order 2018 (S.I. No. 631 of 2018). Signed on 19 December 2018. Statutory Instrument of the Government of Ireland. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book.
42. County of Sligo Local Electoral Areas and Municipal Districts Order 2018 (S.I. No. 632 of 2018). Signed on 19 December 2018. Statutory Instrument of the Government of Ireland. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book.
43. County of South Dublin Local Electoral Areas Order 2018 (S.I. No. 633 of 2018). Signed on 19 December 2018. Statutory Instrument of the Government of Ireland. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book.
44. County of Tipperary Local Electoral Areas and Municipal Districts Order 2018 (S.I. No. 634 of 2018). Signed on 19 December 2018. Statutory Instrument of the Government of Ireland. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book.
45. City and County of Waterford Local Electoral Areas and Municipal Districts Order 2018 (S.I. No. 635 of 2018). Signed on 19 December 2018. Statutory Instrument of the Government of Ireland. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book.
46. County of Westmeath Local Electoral Areas and Municipal Districts Order 2018 (S.I. No. 636 of 2018). Signed on 19 December 2018. Statutory Instrument of the Government of Ireland. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book.
47. County of Wexford Local Electoral Areas and Municipal Districts Order 2018 (S.I. No. 637 of 2018). Signed on 19 December 2018. Statutory Instrument of the Government of Ireland. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book.
48. County of Wicklow Local Electoral Areas and Municipal Districts Order 2018 (S.I. No. 638 of 2018). Signed on 19 December 2018. Statutory Instrument of the Government of Ireland. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book.
49. County Of Wicklow Local Electoral Areas And Municipal Districts (Amendment) Order 2019 (S.I. No. 7 of 2019). Signed on 17 January 2019. Statutory Instrument of the Government of Ireland. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book.

External links

• "Local Electoral Areas - OSi National Statutory Boundaries - 2019 - Generalised 20m". Open Data Unit. Government of Ireland. 7 July 2022. Retrieved 9 June 2023.

• Council elections in the Republic of Ireland
• Electoral areas in the Republic of Ireland
• Local government in the Republic of Ireland
• Second-level administrative divisions by country
• Subdivisions of the Republic of Ireland
• LAU statistical regions of the European Union