Laois–Offaly (Dáil constituency)
Laois–Offaly is a parliamentary constituency which is represented in Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Irish parliament or Oireachtas. The constituency elects 5 deputies. The method of election is the single transferable vote form of proportional representation. It was previously a constituency from 1921 to 2016.
History and boundaries
Laois–Offaly was created under the Government of Ireland Act 1920, and first used for the 1921 general election to the Second Dáil. It was used at every subsequent general election until 2011.It spanned the entire area of County Laois and most of County Offaly, and includes the towns of Abbeyleix, Birr, Edenderry, Mountrath, Portarlington, Portlaoise and Tullamore. A small part of County Offaly was in the Tipperary North constituency.
It was abolished at the 2016 general election, and was replaced by the new constituencies of Laois and Offaly.
Since 2020
The Constituency Commission proposed in its 2017 report that at the next general election a new 5-seat constituency called Laois–Offaly be created.It was established by the Electoral Act 2017. It replaced the constituencies of Laois and Offaly. The re-created constituency incorporates all of County Laois and all of County Offaly, except those parts that are compromised within the constituency of Kildare South. In County Laois, these are the electoral divisions of Ballybrittas, Jamestown, Kilmullen, Portarlington South, in the former Rural District of Mountmellick; and in County Offaly, the electoral division of Portarlington North, in the former Rural District of Tullamore.
The 2017 Act defines the constituency as:
| Years | Name | TDs | Boundaries | Law | Notes |
| Leix–Offaly | 4 | Constituency created. The two counties were combined in a single four-member constituency for the House of Commons of Southern Ireland. The Sinn Féin candidates elected unopposed preferred to sit in the Second Dáil. In the Dáil the Irish form of the constituency name was Co. Laoighise agus Co. Ó bhFáilghe. Leix and Offaly seem to be the versions used in English. The four-seat constituency was also used for the Third Dáil. In the Irish Free State the official name in English of the constituency was undoubtedly Leix–Offaly. | |||
| 1923–1961 | Leix–Offaly | 5 | No change in boundaries | Electoral Act 1923 | The constituency was granted a fifth seat. |
| 1961–2007 | 5 | No change in boundaries | Electoral Act 1961 | The constituency was renamed Laoighis–Offaly, but was otherwise unchanged. | |
| 2007–2011 | Laois–Offaly | 5 | No change in boundaries | The constituency was renamed Laois–Offaly, but was otherwise unchanged. | |
| 2011–2016 | Laois–Offaly | 5 | All of County Laois, and all of County Offaly except those areas included in Tipperary North | Electoral Act 2009 | In County Offaly, the electoral divisions of: Aghacon, Barna, Cangort, Cullenwaine, Dunkerrin, Ettagh, Gorteen, Mountheaton, Shinrone, Templeharry, in the former Rural District of Roscrea No. 2, are in the Tipperary North constituency. |
| 2020–present | Laois–Offaly | 5 | All of County Laois, and all of County Offaly except those areas included in Kildare South | Electoral Act 2017 | Constituency re-created. In County Laois, the electoral divisions of: Ballybrittas, Jamestown, Kilmullen, Portarlington South, in the former Rural District of Mountmellick; and in County Offaly, the electoral division of: Portarlington North, in the former Rural District of Tullamore, are in the Kildare South constituency. |