Review threatens new cuts to Galway East constituency

There will be voter outrage in Galway East as the Government plans to pluck another 3,000 votes from the region and into the Roscommon dominated constituency.

Efforts are being made to restore the county boundary so as Galway East can be restored as a four-seater – as it was case before the boundaries were changed back in 2012.

But it seems that this will not be the case as the Government are determined to maintain the three-seater Roscommon-Galway constituency which takes in the whole of Ballinasloe along with the likes of Ballygar, Williamstown, Glenamaddy and parts of Dunmore.

It has been learned that more parts of Dunmore and Eyrecourt are to be included in the Roscommon-Galway constituency and this is bound to infuriate voters in these areas. It is part of a boundaries commission review that is currently taking place.

But it means that there is no chance of Galway East being restored to a four-seat constituency. Instead it will remain as a three-seater with 3,000 less voters which is now the cause of much controversy.

Fine Gael’s Cllr Michael Finnerty from Ballinasloe said that it was not a move that was welcome. He has constantly campaigned for Ballinasloe to be included in a four-seater Galway East constituency.

“We want to be part of Galway, it is as simple as that. We have no affiliation with Roscommon and the three TDs that were elected in Roscommon-Galway have no affiliation with Ballinasloe. It is a ridiculous situation at the moment.

“I have told the party that this is not satisfactory. We should not have to be in a situation that we have to be part of Roscommon. It does not sit well with party members since the last boundary review,” Cllr Finnerty added.

Fianna Fail party members in the Ballinasloe area are also disgruntled to be part of the Roscommon-dominated constituency and met recently to express their dissatisfaction. They have now written to party headquarters looking for support to have Galway East restored as a four-seater.

In the last general election earlier this year there was no candidate in the Ballinasloe area and the only candidate on the Galway side of the constituency was independent Mick Fitzmaurice in Glinsk who comfortably won a seat.

But now that it is the intention to put 3,000 more votes in the Roscommon-Galway constituency, it seems highly unlikely that there will be any change to the current situation in the immediate future.

Cllr Finnerty believes that eventually voter apathy will set in as he said that there did not seem to be any obvious candidate from the Ballinasloe area standing in the next general election.