The size and shape of constituencies has long caused controversy, writes Stephen Collins
With a constituency revision before the next election now a distinct possibility, it is worth recalling that the shape and size of constituencies has caused political controversy and influenced the outcome of elections since the foundation of the State. "The operation of gerrymandering is never a very pretty spectacle . . . and it really reaches the nadir of absurdity and disruptiveness when we have a map erected in the Custom House with members of the Fianna Fáil party gathered round it like bees or wasps round a honey pot," then Fine Gael leader James Dillon told the Dáil in 1961 as he vainly opposed a blatantly partisan constituency revision devised by Neil Blaney.
The Free State constitution of 1922 laid down the basis of the electoral system as we know it. It specified that TDs would be elected by proportional representation with the ratio of Dáil deputies to population being fixed at not less than one for every 30,000 and not more than one for every 20,000. It added that the constituencies should be revised "with due regard to changes in distribution of the population". The size of the 153-member Dáil, and the constituency boundaries, were subsequently established by law. In advance of the 1923 election the county was divided into 28 multi-seat constituencies, six three-seaters, four four-seaters, nine five-seaters, five seven-seaters, three eight-seaters and one nine-seater. There was no constituency revision during the first 10 years of the State's existence, although the Cumann na nGaedheal government did consider one.
When Fianna Fáil took office in 1932 Eamon de Valera quickly realised that the size and number of constituencies could be a key tool for retaining power. In January 1933, when he won his first overall majority in a snap election, he established a cabinet subcommittee with himself at its head, to examine how the Dáil seats should be redistributed in the light of population change.
A ruthless carve-up ensued, with the number of seats being cut from 153 to 138. The size of constituencies was also cut dramatically with the elimination of eight and nine-seaters. Instead there were 15 three-seaters, eight four-seaters and three seven-seaters. The aim of the exercise was to reduce the proportionality of the old system and give the biggest party, Fianna Fáil, a valuable seat bonus by having so many three-seaters.
The tactic worked like a dream. In 1933 Fianna Fáil had a seat bonus of just one, but this rose to seven in 1937 and again in 1938, and nine in 1943 and 1944. The revision was a key element in helping the party to retain power for 16 years, despite big fluctuations in its vote.
In 1942 officials in the department of local government pointed out to their political masters that Dublin was under-represented by a considerable margin but the government decided to take no action, despite the fact that de Valera's constitution laid down that the ratio should be the same across the country. The next constituency revision was put off until October 1947 when Fianna Fáil was shaken by the potential impact of a new party, Clann na Poblachta.
The 1947 revision was based on the preliminary rather than the final census figures because of the urgency of the political situation. Despite a fall in the country's population, the number of seats was increased from 138 to 147. The number of three-seat constituencies was increased from 15 to 22. Very soon after the revision an election was called for February 1948, and while Fianna Fáil lost office it won a bonus of six seats and the Clann was stopped in its tracks.
Another constituency revision did not take place until 1959, the outer limit of the 12-year timeframe specified in the constitution. Fianna Fáil persisted with the under-representation of Dublin. While the national average of people per TD was 20,127, it was 22,753 in Dublin, while in the four western counties of Donegal, Mayo, Galway and Kerry it dropped to 17,758 per TD.
This revision was challenged in the High Court by Fine Gael senator John O'Donovan, and Mr Justice Budd found that the large deviation from the average was unconstitutional. He suggested that five per cent would be an acceptable deviation. After the court decision the government redrew the boundaries in 1961, removing the anti-Dublin bias, and the legislation was referred to the Supreme Court where it was approved. The number of TDs was reduced to 144 with 17 three three-seat constituencies, 12 four-seaters and nine five-seaters.
The 1961 revision, carried out by Neil Blaney, may have eliminated the anti-Dublin bias but the pro-Fianna Fáil bias was left intact, giving the party a seat bonus of seven in 1961 and three in 1965. In 1968, in tandem with the referendum to abolish PR, the government also proposed to change the constitution to allow it to vary the TD-to-population ratio by 16 per cent in either direction rather than the five per cent suggested by the High Court. The people voted no by a decisive margin to both propositions.
In response the minister for local government, Kevin Boland, devised another ruthless constituency carve-up. The Fianna Fáil tally figures from the 1965 election were used as the basis of a revision designed to eke out every last possible seat for the party from the votes cast. The number of five-seaters was cut to two, there were 14 four-seaters and 26 three-seat constituencies. The tactic worked and in the 1969 election Jack Lynch defied most of the pundits by securing a bonus of nine seats and the overall majority that had twice eluded Seán Lemass.
In 1973 that bonus declined to two seats, because of strong Fine Gael-Labour transfers, and Fianna Fáil lost power after its second 16-year continuous run. The new coalition minister for local government, Jim Tully, then produced a cynical constituency revision, dubbed the "Tullymander", clearly designed to produce a seat bonus for Labour and Fine Gael. The tactic was to have three-seaters in Dublin, where the two parties were strong, and four-seaters outside it where Fianna Fáil was strong.
The "Tullymander" backfired in spectacular style because it was based on assumptions of coalition support that failed to materialise. Instead Fianna Fáil achieved its greatest ever victory, winning a nine-seat bonus. One of the pledges the party made during the election was to establish an independent commission to revise constituency boundaries.
Jack Lynch honoured his promise and established the first independent constituency commission in 1979. The commission increased the number of five-seat constituencies to 15 while halving the number of three-seaters and creating more four-seaters. The effect was to reduce the seat bonus available to the biggest party, Fianna Fáil, and it has not won an overall majority since.
In 1988 the Haughey government attempted to manipulate the commission by changing the terms of reference and specifying that five-seat constituencies should only be retained where necessary in order to avoid breaching country boundaries. The opposition saw this as a plot by the minister for the environment, Pádraig Flynn, to cut the number of five-seaters and restore the old Fianna Fáil seat bonus.
A Dáil controversy ensued but, as the Haughey government did not have a majority, the revision was never promulgated into law. On the formation of the first Fianna Fáil-PD coalition Des O'Malley insisted on a return to the old terms of reference and they have remained the same ever since.
The most recent commission report in 2004, which will be overtaken if another review is ordered in the light of the census, reduced the number of five-seaters from 14 to 12 and increased the number of three-seaters from 16 to 18, the highest since the days of the gerrymanders.