Work has started to figure out how to fit more TDs into the next Dáil.

The Office of Public Works (OPW) has been asked to find ways to accommodate between nine and 19 extra deputies in Leinster House.

There are just 169 active seats in Leinster House, which is fine for the current Dáil of 160.

But the next Dáil will see the highest ever number of TDs, somewhere between 169 and 179.

The Oireachtas has asked the OPW to come up with suggestions for how to house the extra bodies.

Squeezing more seats into the chamber is on the table.

But given the number of TDs constitutionally has to rise with the population, there is a question mark over when the Dáil will literally reach capacity.

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