What it replaced
Before 2023, electoral work was split across several bodies. Constituency boundary reviews for the Dáil and European Parliament went to a Constituency Commission. Each referendum got its own temporary Referendum Commission to explain the Yes/No choice in neutral language. Party registration and chunks of electoral law sat elsewhere in the system.
The Electoral Reform Act 2022 pulled much of that into one permanent home: An Coimisiún Toghcháin, formally established on 9 February 2023, according to Government records. The Commission is independent of the Government and reports to the Oireachtas.
It also gained new jobs the old patchwork never covered cleanly: research on electoral policy, public information campaigns, work on online political advertising, and protecting the integrity of elections.
What it does today
The Commission sits upstream of parliament. It shapes the rules and maps that decide who ends up on your ballot. Once TDs are elected, their chamber work is what DáilDex tracks.
Constituency boundaries
Dáil and European Parliament
- Reviews must happen at least every 10 years by law
- Each Dáil constituency returns 3, 4, or 5 TDs
- Total Dáil size must stay between 171 and 181 TDs
- County boundaries should be kept intact where practicable
The 2023 review recommended 174 TDs in 43 constituencies, used at the November 2024 general election.
Voter information
Education and referendums
- Explains referendum proposals in neutral language
- Promotes public awareness of how to register and vote
- Publishes guides on Ireland's democratic system
- Encourages turnout at referendum polls
Its Ireland's democracy pages are a solid primer on how the Oireachtas fits together.
Party register and integrity
Behind-the-scenes rules
- Maintains the Register of Political Parties
- Reports on local electoral area boundaries
- Researches electoral policy for the Minister
- Works on election integrity and online political ads
You may never visit these pages until you form a party or complain about a boundary. They still decide the shape of the contest.
How it differs from the Referendum Commission
For decades, each referendum came with a short-lived Referendum Commission: a neutral body stood up to explain what a Yes or No vote would mean, then wound down when the poll closed.
An Coimisiún Toghcháin now carries that explanation duty as a standing function. Same goal, different architecture: one permanent commission instead of a new temporary commission every time. The information still has to be impartial. The Commission cannot tell you how to vote.
Referendums change the Constitution. The Oireachtas then implements what voters decided. DáilDex does not cover referendum campaigns. It covers TD and Senator activity in the Dáil and Seanad once those people are in office.
Why ordinary voters should care
Constituency reviews decide how many TDs your county returns and whether your town shares a seat with a neighbouring county. A boundary shift can merge two sitting TDs into one seat or add a seat where population grew. You still choose candidates, but the map sets the maths.
Voter information matters when you turn 18, move house, or wonder why a referendum booklet arrived in the post. The Commission's job is to make the machinery legible before polling day.
Integrity work matters when trust in elections is under pressure anywhere in the world. Ireland still runs paper ballots counted by hand in most elections. The Commission's newer brief includes online advertising rules and research on how the system should evolve.