Meath West is a
parliamentary constituency
An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...
represented in
Dáil Éireann
Dáil Éireann ( ; , ) is the lower house and principal chamber of the Oireachtas, which also includes the president of Ireland and a senate called Seanad Éireann.Article 15.1.2° of the Constitution of Ireland reads: "The Oireachtas shall co ...
, the lower house of the
Irish parliament or
Oireachtas
The Oireachtas ( ; ), sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the Bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of the president of Ireland and the two houses of the Oireachtas (): a house ...
. The constituency elects three deputies (
Teachtaí Dála, commonly known as TDs) on the system of
proportional representation
Proportional representation (PR) refers to any electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to political divisions (Political party, political parties) amon ...
by means of the
single transferable vote
The single transferable vote (STV) or proportional-ranked choice voting (P-RCV) is a multi-winner electoral system in which each voter casts a single vote in the form of a ranked ballot. Voters have the option to rank candidates, and their vot ...
(PR-STV).
History and boundaries
The constituency was created under the
Electoral (Amendment) Act 2005 when the previous 5-seat
Meath constituency was divided into two 3-seat constituencies of
Meath East and Meath West.
It was first used at the
2007 general election to the
30th Dáil. The town of
Kells was moved to Meath East at the
2011 general election. The part of
County Westmeath
County Westmeath (; or simply ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It formed part of the historic Kingdom of ...
in the constituency was moved to
Longford–Westmeath at the
2024 general election.
It spans the western portions of
County Meath
County Meath ( ; or simply , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is bordered by County Dublin to the southeast, County ...
, including the towns of
Trim and
Navan
Navan ( ; , meaning "the Cave") is the county town and largest town of County Meath, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is at the confluence of the River Boyne and Leinster Blackwater, Blackwater, around 50 km northwest of Dublin. At the ...
.
For the
2024 general election, the
Electoral (Amendment) Act 2023
The Electoral (Amendment) Act 2023 is a law of Ireland to revise Dáil constituencies and European Parliament constituencies. The revised Dáil constituencies will come into effect on the dissolution of the 33rd Dáil. The dissolution must tak ...
defines the constituency as:
TDs
Elections
2024 general election
2020 general election
2016 general election
2011 general election
2007 general election
See also
*
Elections in the Republic of Ireland
In Ireland, direct elections by universal suffrage are used for the President, the ceremonial head of state; for Dáil Éireann, the house of representatives of the Oireachtas or parliament; for the European Parliament; and for local government ...
*
Politics of the Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland, Ireland is a parliamentary system, parliamentary, representative democracy, representative democratic republic and a member state of the European Union. While the head of state is the popularly elected President of Irelan ...
*
List of political parties in the Republic of Ireland
There are a number of political party, political parties in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, and coalition governments are common. The two historically largest parties, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, arose from a split in the original History of Sinn ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meath West (Dail constituency)
Dáil constituencies
Politics of County Meath
2007 establishments in Ireland
Constituencies established in 2007