Population passes 4.2 million mark

THE population has reached its highest level since 1861 with the census showing almost 4,235,000 people live in the State.

The 8.1% rise represents an increase of 318,000 in the four years since the last census was conducted. Ireland now has the largest population growth rate in the EU over the past decade — averaging 1.8% annually.

Despite many years of emigration during the 1960s and 1980s, our population has also increased by an unprecedented 50% since 1961.

The latest results show that migration rather than natural increase (the excess of births over deaths) is the dominant factor in accounting for the continuing trend of strong population growth. On average, there were 46,000 more immigrants into than emigrants from Ireland annually since 2002.

Although no direct figures are yet available, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) — which compiled Census 2006 — has predicted that the full results will show that the total number of immigrants arriving in Ireland is about 90,000 per annum.

CSO senior statistician Aidan Punch estimated the number of foreign nationals now resident in Ireland is around 400,000, accounting for 9%-10% of the population. Four years ago, the figure was just 220,000.

Geographically, every administrative area of the country, with the exception of Cork city and Limerick city, recorded population growth since 2002.

However, the CSO has dismissed suggestions that the large number of rugby fans attending the Heineken Cup semi-final between Munster and Leinster in Dublin on April 24 last, the day of the census, impacted on the population figures of the two cities.

The greatest population increases were recorded in Dublin’s suburban and commuter belt with Fingal (north Dublin) and Meath both recording growth of over 20% in the past four years, while Kildare’s population grew by 13.2%.

Eight out of the top 20 electoral divisions which experienced the highest population changes occurred within the Fingal area.

Dubber near Dublin Airport recorded a massive 344% growth as its population increased from 838 to 3,721 since 2002.

Fingal, Meath and Kildare alone accounted for 30% of the national population increase.

Other parts of Leinster including Laois, Wexford, Offaly, Westmeath and Wicklow also recorded growth rates of over 10%.

However, Dublin itself experienced only a modest growth with the city centre and parts of the southside suburbs recording increases of less than 2%.

Connacht and the three Ulster counties within the Republic, which traditionally have suffered depopulation in the recent past, all reported increases similar to overall levels.

Only Munster recorded growth rates less than the national average, with only parts of east Cork showing increases in excess of 10%.

The cities of Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Waterford as well as south Dublin and Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown experienced net outward migration over the period. This phenomenon is largely attributed to a combination of adult children leaving home and the cost and scarcity of property in the areas.

CSO director general Donal Garvey said census forms had been collected from 1.5 million households.