Population change:The Government's refusal to order a redrawing of constituencies to reflect "unprecedented" population change over the last four years showed "scant regard" for the Constitution, said Prof Brendan Walsh.
Preliminary census figures available nine months before the general election in May showed startling population changes in many constituencies, particularly those in commuter belt areas. However, the Government decided not to ask the Boundary Commission to review constituency maps on the grounds that the preliminary figures might not prove accurate enough.
The decision meant that the 166 TDs' places were divided up on the basis of the 2002 census even though the State's population had risen by 8.2 per cent over the four years.
The changes in particular constituencies were even more dramatic: Dublin North East's population had fallen by 4.3 per cent, while Dublin West's had grown by 26.9 per cent.
"As a result, the ratio of population to TD was 36 per cent higher in Dublin West than in Dún Laoghaire ," Prof Walsh told the summer school.
"Furthermore, the national population increased by a further 2 per cent between the time of the 2006 census and the date of the election, so that the election was fought with even more glaring discrepancies."
Articles 16.2.2 and 16.2.3 of the Constitution ordered that there should be a TD for not less than each 30,000 of population, and not more than one for each 20,000 people.
Prof Walsh rejected the Government's argument that the preliminary census figures were not reliable enough since only minor changes were made to the final census figures in April.
The Dublin South West final figure, for example, was 612 lower than the preliminary figure, while Meath East's result was just 545 higher. "All fell within O.6 per cent of the preliminary results," he said.
"This issue will not go away. If the newly-elected Dáil runs for five years, the next general election will be contested in mid-2012. The situation will then be much the same as it was this year."
Aidan Punch of the Central Statistics Office said final 2011 census figures were not likely to be published significantly earlier because of changes that would be made in the way the Census was conducted.
Up to now the preliminary figures were provided from the first round of checks made by census enumerators, but the next census would probably allow citizens to file their returns online.
