Kildare South is a parliamentary constituency represented in Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Irish parliament or Oireachtas. The constituency elects four deputies (Teachtaí Dála, commonly known as TDs) on the electoral system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote (PR-STV).
History and boundaries
The constituency was first used at the 1997 general election, when the former 5-seat Kildare constituency was divided into Kildare South and Kildare North.
The Kildare South constituency spans the more rural southern and western areas of County Kildare, taking in the towns of Newbridge, Kildare, Athy, Caragh and many other areas. At the 2020 general election, it gained an extra seat to become a 4-seat constituency.
The Constituency Review Report 2023 of the Electoral Commission recommended that at the next general election, the boundary of Kildare South be altered with the transfer of territory to Kildare North, Laois and Offaly.
For the 2024 general election, the Electoral (Amendment) Act 2023 defines the constituency as:
{| class="wikitable"
|- bgcolor="green"
|+Changes to the Kildare South constituency 1997–present
|-
!Years
!TDs
!Boundaries
!Notes
|-
|1997–2016
|align="center"|3
|rowspan=4|County Kildare, except the part in the constituency of Kildare North
|Created from Kildare,
|-
|2002–2007
|align="center"|3
|
|-
|2007–2011
|align="center"|3
|
|-
|2011–2016
|align="center"|3
|
|-
|2016–2020
|align="center"|3
|County Kildare,
except the parts in the constituencies of Kildare North and Laois
|
|-
|2020–
|align="center"|4
|County Kildare,
except the parts in the constituencies of Kildare North,|the electoral division of Carbury, Carrick, Drehid, Kilrainy in the former Edenderry No. 2 Rural District,
|}
TDs
Elections
2024 general election
Seán Ó Fearghaíl was Ceann Comhairle at the dissolution of the 33rd Dáil and will be returned automatically. The constituency was treated as a three-seater for the purposes of calculating the quota.
2020 general election
Seán Ó Fearghaíl was Ceann Comhairle at the dissolution of the 32nd Dáil and therefore deemed to be returned automatically. The constituency was treated as a three-seater for the purposes of calculating the quota.
2016 general election
See also
- Elections in the Republic of Ireland
- Politics of the Republic of Ireland
- List of Dáil by-elections
- List of political parties in the Republic of Ireland