Galway to get increase in councillors to 18

Date Published: 10-Jan-2013

BY DECLAN TIERNEY

Speculation about an increase in the number of city councillors to be elected in Galway at the next Local Elections next year has now resulted in confirmation that Galway will have three electoral wards – each electing six public representatives.

It means that Galway City Council will have three additional councillors – as was predicted after the recent local government reform – and it will provide a ‘safety net’ for several sitting councillors.

It was not known how this would translate on the ground, but Government sources have now confirmed to the Galway City Tribune that there will be three six-seater electoral wards, which is certain to result in several boundary changes.

While Galway City East will remain a six-seater, there will be increases in both Galway City Central and Galway City West – leading to speculation that a number of former councillors and defeated candidates are now fancying their chances of making another bid for office.

The biggest change will come in the Galway City Central electoral area – the former West Ward – which will experience an increase of two seats. It will also result in around 3,000 of an electorate being added to the area.

It means that much of the existing Galway City East will be redrawn into the Galway City Central ward and many of the sitting councillors on the east side will be watching the boundary changes with intense interest.

Government sources suggest that a large chunk of Terryland area would come in with the Galway City Central ward and this would spell problems for the likes of Labour’s Tom Costello, who picked up the last seat in 2009, and Frank Fahy, who was co-opted in place of Deputy Brian Walsh.

For more on this story, see the Galway City Tribune.