Crucial constituencies: Dún Laoghaire – Candidates and issues

Tomas Doherty

Dún Laoghaire is a bellwether constituency where the main parties are battling for the final seats.

Here is everything you need to know about Dún Laoghaire before heading to the polls on November 29th.

The constituency

Dún Laoghaire stretches from Booterstown in the north to Shankill in the south at the Wicklow border. It takes in some of most affluent areas of the country and has the highest house prices.

The constituency boundaries have changed since the 2020 election, with parts of Foxrock moving into Dublin Rathdown. The population is 120,235.

The issues

Dún Laoghaire has housing problems like the rest of the country, with high rents and a local authority housing list of over 3,800.

Parts of the constituency have seen an increase in home building in recent years, including in Shanganagh Castle Estate in Shankill, one of the State's largest ever public housing projects.

Public transport is an important issue in this urban area, with 40 per cent of residents travelling to work by bus or train.

Immigration has also been a concern in recent years – anti-asylum-seeker protests took place in Ballybrack during the summer of 2023.

Seats

There are four seats in Dún Laoghaire, unchanged since the last election.

The candidates

Dún Laoghaire was once a strong Fine Gael area, with the party taking three seats in 2016.

Green candidate Ossian Smyth took the first seat here in 2020, but will likely be fighting for the final spot this time round.

People Before Profit’s Richard Boyd Barrett and Fine Gael’s Jennifer Carroll MacNeill appear to have the safest seats in the constituency.

The final two Dáil spots will be between Smyth, Fianna Fáil’s incumbent TD Cormac Devlin and Fine Gael’s Barry Ward.

Outgoing TDs

Ossian Smyth – Green
Richard Boyd Barrett – People Before Profit
Jennifer Carroll MacNeill – Fine Gael
Cormac Devlin – Fianna Fáil