Laois 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 Commission The Constituency Commission () is an independent commission in Ireland which had advised on redrawing of constituency boundaries of Dáil constituencies for the election of members to Dáil Éireann (the house of representatives of the Oireacht ...

proposed in its 2012 report that at the 2016 general election a new constituency called Laois be created. The report proposed changes to the constituencies of Ireland to reduce the total number of TDs from 166 to 158. It was established by the Electoral (Amendment) (Dáil Constituencies) Act 2013. The constituency incorporated all of

County Laois County Laois ( ; ) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medieval kingdom. Hist ...

from the previous Laois–Offaly constituency, and six electoral divisions from Kildare South. It was abolished at the 2020 general election, along with the

Offaly County Offaly (; ) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in honour of Philip II of Spain ...

constituency. They were replaced by a re-created Laois–Offaly constituency, with the transfer of four electoral divisions in County Offaly to Kildare South. In 2023, the

Electoral Commission An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...

recommended the establishment of a three-seat constituency of Laois comprising the entire county of Laois. 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

2016 general election

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Laois (Dail constituency) Dáil constituencies 2016 establishments in Ireland Constituencies established in 2016 2020 disestablishments in Ireland Constituencies disestablished in 2020 2024 establishments in Ireland Constituencies established in 2024 Dáil constituencies in the Republic of Ireland (historic) Historic constituencies in County Laois

History and boundaries

TDs

Elections

2024 general election

2016 general election

See also

References