Sinn Féin ambitious to take two seats in Meath East - O'Rourke

Sinn Fein will be aiming to take two of the four seats in Meath East following today's announcement of electoral boundary changes.

Deputy Darren O'Rourke, the party's spokesperson on the Environment welcomed the Boundary Commissions recommendation to increase Meath East to a four seater constituency

The Commission has recommended an extra seat for Meath East, with the addition of seven Electoral Divisions (EDs) in north Meath and the Julianstown ED in east Meath.

"I welcome the recommendations of the Boundary Commission in the round. There are always positives and negatives and there were a range of outcomes possible. It makes absolute sense to bring those EDs in the north of the county back into Meath. That is welcome. In east Meath, it is welcome to see the Julianstown ED return to Meath for the Dáil. I am a surprised that the area is divided again, though, with the Louth part of the St Mary's ED remaining in Louth.

"As TD for Meath East I will continue to work with Imelda Munster in Louth and Matt Carthy and Pauline Tully in Cavan/Monaghan to ensure the eight EDs are well represented. I will be extending my own clinic schedule into these areas immediately."

He said the changes proposed undoubtedly put the prospect of two Sinn Féin seats in this constituency on the table.

"We take nothing for granted but Sinn Féin have been very clear that we are ambitious to maximise our vote and maximise our seats at the next General Election. We know we left seats behind us at the last election.

"We want to build on the work that we are doing in the County Meath and to continue to gain the confidence and support of the people. We want to lead the next government to deliver the change that people need and deserve - in housing and health and so many areas.

"We will continue to work hard and will see what the future holds."