What does the European Parliament do?

What are the election constituencies?

Who are the candidates?

Who can vote?

What are the current groups?

What are we up to?

The European Parliament is the only directly elected EU Institution, and what is decided in the Parliament over the next five years will have a direct impact on our lives.

In June 2024, EU citizens will elect 720 members (MEPs) in total to represent them at the European Parliament until 2029, with 14 MEPs coming from Ireland.

Our MEPs decide with national governments on two key things: laws in some areas e.g., the single market, and how the EU budget is spent, e.g., spend on agriculture.

MEPs also assess the work of the European Commission and keep track of how EU laws are implemented in EU Member States.

Furthermore, MEPs represent EU citizens on major international issues like climate change, human rights, global trade, economic development, and our place in the world – these are all issues where we need our voices to be heard.

All Irish and EU citizens resident in Ireland aged 18 and over are eligible to vote, provided they register before the deadline. You can check if you are registered to vote at www.checktheregister.ie.

If you are not yet registered, you are eligible to apply for the supplementary register up to 14 days before the vote is due to take place. All the relevant information and forms necessary to register can be found at www.citizensinformation.ie.

I’m an Irish citizen living abroad:

If you are an Irish citizen living in another EU Member State, you can vote in the European elections in the country you are living in. You cannot vote in the Irish European elections from abroad.

You may be eligible for a postal vote or special voting arrangements in certain circumstances, such as diplomats and members of the defence forces.

I’m an EU citizen living in Ireland:

EU citizens in Ireland can vote in Irish European Elections, if registered to do so. Depending on their country of citizenship, EU citizens may be able to vote in their national elections from Ireland. You cannot vote in more than one country or constituency.

What are the election constituencies?

In September 2023, the European Parliament and the Council agreed to the provision of 15 extra MEPs across the EU for the 2024-2029 European Parliament mandate.

One extra seat has been allocated to Ireland, which means that there will be 14 MEPs to elect in June 2024 instead of 13. Following the recommendation of An Coimisúin Toghcháin (The Electoral Commission) in November 2023, the counties of Laois and Offaly have been transferred from the Southern constituency to the Midlands North-West. As a result, the Midlands North-West constituency now has five seats instead of four.