Dublin South and Dún Laoghaire together have one too many TDs, the commission found, but it has decided that Dún Laoghaire should be the one to lose out.
Combined, the two have a population of 232,000, and justify 9.1 seats, rather than the 10 they have now. South's population grew by 3.1 per cent over the last five years, while Dún Laoghaire fell again, this time by 1.8 per cent. The N11 motorway offers a sensible dividing line, thus justifying the transfer of 111,600 voters in Foxrock/ Torquay; Stillorgan/ Leopardstown; Foxrock/ Carrickmines and Cabinteely/ Loughlinstown into South.
Last night, Fianna Fáil worried that the loss of the districts could threaten the party's hold on two seats, particularly following the high numbers it received there in May. "We did really well there, and now they are going into Dublin South where the party doesn't need them," one FF source said.
The reduction of Dún Laoghaire to a four-seater will make it more difficult for Progressive Democrats Senator Fiona O'Malley to win back the seat she lost there in 2007.
Fianna Fáil holds two seats in Dublin South, with Séamus Brennan and Tom Kitt, while Fine Gael has Alan Shatter and Olivia Mitchell, and the Greens have Eamon Ryan.