The Electoral Commission has recommended increasing the number of TDs from 160 to 174 for the next Dáil term.
While conducting a comprehensive review of constituencies, the Commission made several boundary changes and increased the number of constituencies from 39 to 43, reports RTE.
The review considers an 8% increase in population since 2016.
According to the constitution, there should be one TD for every 20,000-30,000 people in Ireland.
Based on the current Dail of 160 MPs, Ireland is already doing much better, with a national average of one TD for every 32,182 MPs.
The recommendations announced today mean that each MP will represent an average of 29,593 people.
The committee is proposing a new Wicklow-Wexford by-election that would cover south and north Wexford, including Rathdrum, Avoca and Arklow in the north, Tinahely and Bunclody in the west and Gorrie, Ferns and Kilmuckridge in the south.
It called for the three constituencies of Tipperary, Dublin, Fingal and Laois-Offaly to be split in half, creating two three-seat constituencies each.
Additional new sites are also proposed in Mayo, Galway East, Kildare North, Longford-Westmeath and Meath East, reports RTE.
The committee had the option of recommending an additional 21 tank destroyers.
During the discussion, however, it found a higher number of deputies would “not result in coherent constituencies”, reports RTE.
The report indicated that this would significantly reduce the number of five-member districts and increase the number of three-member districts.
In a speech to launch the report, Supreme Court Justice Mary Baker, chair of the Electoral Commission, said more TDs would result in a “huge amount of boundary changes”.
Commission chief executive Art O’Leary said it would create a “vast number of three-seater constituencies”, reports RTE.
“That would have resulted in a very skewed landscape if that was the case,” he said, reports RTE.
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