Following a recommendation from the Parliament Constitutional Affairs Committee (AFCO) the Ministers of Parliament (MEP) voted to add 11 new MEP seats.

AFCO said: “The allocation of extra seats is designed to ensure the principle of ‘degressive proportionality’, meaning smaller member states are not underrepresented.

There are 13 MEP’s representing Ireland at the moment and now with this vote they are now on course to having 14 representatives in the EU Parliament.

Fine Gael MEP, Sean Kelly who is also a member of AFCO stated: “Ireland is a European success story and has been transformed by the opportunities that the EU offers. "We have moved from a benefactor to contributor, and when you factor in Brexit, it makes sense for Ireland to have another MEP."