South ‘drinks more and works harder’

WE drink more and work harder and longer than our counterparts in the North, according to latest official figures.

The Central Statistics census also found more of us get married. We have a higher percentage of younger people and have more people out of work.

In the Republic, people work an average of 37 hours a week, compared to 35 in the North. According to Ireland: North and South: A Statistical Profile, unemployment fell on both sides of the Border between 1998 and 2003 by 8% in the South and 5% in the North.

More than 43% of the Republic's population is under 15 years, based on the 2002 census, compared with 35% recorded in the North during its 2001 census.

The Republic's birth rate is higher, at 15.5 per 1,000, than the North's 12.6. Death rates are higher in Northern Ireland reflecting the older age profile at 8.6 per 1,000, compared with the Republic's 7.5.

Average class sizes in secondary schools are bigger in the Republic, at 16 per teacher, as against the North's 14 per teacher.

In the North, biology is the most popular A level subject, followed by English literature and mathematics. At Leaving Cert level in the Republic, the most popular subjects are mathematics, English and Irish.

Road accident deaths are higher on this side of the Border at 10.4 per 100,000 population. This compares with 8.8 in the North during 2002.

Ford is the most popular make of car here, with Renault tops in the North.

The figures were compiled by the CSO and the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency. Anti-alcohol abuse campaigner Dr Mick Loftus believes the promotion of alcohol, particularly in sport, is to blame for the higher prevalence of drinking on this side of the Border.

"I am not surprised by that, because of the way it's promoted," said the Mayo GP and former GAA president.

"There is €80 million spent in this country promoting it and aimed primarily now at young people through all types of sport," he said.

"I feel the culture is being created by the drinks industry that you can't enjoy life without drink," said Dr Loftus, a former North Mayo coroner and founder of the organisation Dotháin (Irish for enough) in the early 1990s. "While I am a pioneer, I am not anti-drink. People enjoy it, but I believe people should drink in moderation."