 By radically redrawing the boundaries in the Greater Dublin Area, mainly by creating a large number of three member constituencies rather than 4 or 5 member constituencies, it was hoped to capitalise on the relative weakness of the main opposition party Fianna Fáil in the capital.The hope was that both Fine Gael and Labour would win one seat each, leaving Fianna Fáil with a solitary seat in each constituency.This plan however relied on the Fianna Fáil vote remaining below the 40% mark in the Dublin area.