Thousands of Laois and Offaly voters forced into Kildare at General Election

Thousands and Laois and Offaly voters around Portarligton will be forced to vote for Kildare candidates in the General Election.

Due to a redrawing of the electoral boundary, South Kildare has been expanded to take in Portarlington, Killenard and other areas around the fast-growing border town.

About 12,000 people live in the Laois Offaly area impacted. Kildare South is increased to four-seater on the back of the change. 

The Constituency Commission recommended that Kildare South become a 4 seat constituency and that population be transferred as follows: into the constituency the 7,892 Kildare population that is in the existing Laois constituency; population in the Portarlington area, 9,450 from Laois and 2,404 from Offaly; and 3,226 population from Kildare North.

The Commission said these transfers would "improve the balance of variances between the constituencies in the area
and there will no longer be a breach of the Kildare county boundary".

The change means that Kildare will be represented by eight TDs as opposed to Laois and Offaly which will lose a seat following reunification as a five-seat constituency.

In another twist, three seats are up for grabs in Kildare South due to automatic re-election of the Dáil Ceann Comhairle, Seán Ó Fearghaíl who was elected as a FF candidate in 2016.

The candidates in the mix so far are: Martin Heydon TD, FG, Fiona O’Loughlin TD, FF, Cllr Suzanne Doyle, FF, Cllr Patricia Ryan, SF, Cllr Mark Wall, Lab, Ronan Maher, Greens, Linda Hayden, Social Democrats, Cathal Berry, Ind.