Midlands–North-West_(European_Parliament_constituency)

Midlands–North-West (European Parliament constituency)

Midlands–North-West (European Parliament constituency)

Constituency of the European Parliament in Ireland


Midlands–North-West is a European Parliament constituency in Ireland. It elects four Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) on the electoral system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote (PR-STV). At the 2024 European Parliament election, it will elect 5 MEPs.

Quick Facts Member state, Electorate ...

History and boundaries

Midlands–North-West was created for the 2014 European Parliament election when Ireland's allocation of seats was reduced from 12 to 11 due to the accession of Croatia to the European Union. It followed a recommendation of a 2013 Constituency Commission report on European Parliament constituencies in Ireland. It consisted of the old North-West constituency, except for County Clare which was moved to the South constituency; as well the northern and central Leinster part of the East constituency.[1][2] The Irish Times criticised the wide geographic spread of the constituency, calling it "a heterogeneous mish-mash of counties with little historic or cultural connection to each other". It was nicknamed "Malin M50" for its wide spread, from the suburbs of Dublin to the Atlantic seaboard.[3]

For the 2019 European Parliament election, a reapportionment following Brexit and the loss of 73 MEPs from the United Kingdom gave two additional seats to Ireland. Following a recommendation of the Constituency Commission, counties Laois and Offaly were moved to the South constituency, with Midlands–North-West maintaining its 4 seats.[4][5]

The constituency comprises the counties of Cavan, Donegal, Galway, Kildare, Leitrim, Longford, Louth, Mayo, Meath, Monaghan, Roscommon, Sligo and Westmeath; and the city of Galway.[6]

The main urban areas of Midlands–North-West (by population size) are Galway, Drogheda, Dundalk, Navan, Newbridge, Naas, Athlone, Mullingar, Celbridge and Letterkenny.

2024

At the 2024 European Parliament election, Midlands–North-West will increase to 5 seats, with the transfer of County Laois and County Offaly from South.[7] This followed a recommendation of the Electoral Commission, where Ireland had been allocated one additional MEP. This gives the new constituency a population of 1,831,741, as of the 2022 census[8][9]

More information Election, Area ...

MEPs

2019–2024 boundaries
More information Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) for Midlands–North-West 2014–, Parl. ...

Note: The columns in this table are used only for presentational purposes, and no significance should be attached to the order of columns. For details of the order in which seats were won at each election, see the detailed results of that election.

Elections

2024 election

    2019 election

    More information Party, Candidate ...

      2014 election

      More information Party, Candidate ...

        Footnotes

        1. Matt Carthy was substituted by Chris MacManus (SF / GUE/NGL) in February 2020.
        2. Mairead McGuinness was substituted by Colm Markey (FG / EPP) in September 2020.
        3. Will not appear on the ballot under the label of "National Party" following a decision by the Registrar of Political Parties. Two factions of the party both applied to use the name "National Party" and the Registrar opted not to endorse either group.[15][16]

        References

        1. "Report on European Parliament Constituencies 2013" (PDF). Constituency Commission. 25 September 2013. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 January 2021. Retrieved 25 September 2013.
        2. "New Irish MEP constituencies announced". RTÉ News. 25 September 2013. Archived from the original on 25 September 2013. Retrieved 25 September 2013.
        3. McGee, Harry (3 March 2014). "Illogical constituencies to make for unpredictable Euro election". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 23 July 2014. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
        4. Cunningham, Paul (24 September 2018). "Dublin and Ireland South to gain extra European Parliament seats". RTÉ News. Archived from the original on 17 September 2020. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
        5. "Report on European Parliament Constituencies 2018" (PDF). Constituency Commission. 24 September 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 May 2019. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
        6. European Parliament Elections (Amendment) Act 2019, s. 7 (No. 7 of 2019, s. 7). Enacted on 12 March 2019. Act of the Oireachtas. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 23 March 2019.
        7. Electoral (Amendment) Act 2023, s. 5: Amendment of European Parliament Elections Act 1997 (No. 40 of 2023, s. 5). Enacted on 19 December 2023. Act of the Oireachtas. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 22 February 2024.
        8. "Review of European Parliament Constituencies Report 2023" (PDF). Electoral Commission. 20 November 2023. Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 November 2023. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
        9. Burns, Sarah (20 November 2023). "Extra European Parliament seat recommended for Midlands-North West". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 20 November 2023. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
        10. European Parliament Elections (Amendment) Act 2014, s. 3 (No. 2 of 2014, s. 3). Enacted on 5 February 2014. Act of the Oireachtas. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 23 March 2019.
        11. "2014 European Parliament election – Midlands–North-West". ElectionsIreland.org. Archived from the original on 29 April 2014. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
        12. "Nominations for European Election". Returning Officer for Galway. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
        13. "EU Elections Information Hub". European Movement Ireland. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
        14. "EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT Meet the Candidates". Ireland Votes. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
        15. McQuinn, Cormac (12 April 2024). "Registrar rejects opposing bids to use National Party name in elections". Irish Times. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
        16. Ó Caollaí, Éanna (21 March 2014). "Luke 'Ming' Flanagan to stand in European election". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 22 March 2014. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
        17. "Mark launches Euro election campaign after 'whirlwind response' to cannabis stance". Dundalk Democrat. 28 January 2014. Archived from the original on 13 March 2014. Retrieved 13 March 2014.


        Share this article:

        This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Midlands–North-West_(European_Parliament_constituency), and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.