Stephen Farry MLA said: “The announcement regarding the confirmation of local government elections to 26 councils was the inevitable outcome of the failure of the Executive to reach agreement. The current boundaries date back to 1992 and during the intervening 18 years there has been a significant shift in population within districts.
“This tests the principle of equality of representation and means that there will be an element of distortions in terms of outcome.
“Normally, one would expect boundaries to be revised every decade. This process was put on hold pending local government aspects of the Review of Public Administration. The subsequent failure of the Executive to agree a way forward, in part due to disagreements over boundaries, led to a situation where the current boundaries are arguably no longer fit for purpose.”
ENDS