Living costs and crime hit quality of life in Dublin

DUBLINERS earn more money and have more to spend but they have to fork out more for housing and childcare, and are subjected to higher levels of crime than the rest of the country.

The latest in-depth look at Ireland’s quality of life, published yesterday by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), revealed startling differences between the capital and rural areas.

But despite the difficulties they face meeting the rising cost of living and high crime rates, less people in the capital are willing to vote.

Dubliners live in smaller homes and the city has the highest level of apartment dwellers, but those in the capital use their free time well, with sport increasingly popular as two-thirds of people get regular exercise.

However, gaelic games do not hold the same draw as they do in the country, with only 3% of people playing gaelic football.

The capital also has some of the worst driving — or the best policing — if road offences and penalty points are anything to go by.

According to the CSO the capital has the lowest proportion of people driving to work but they still manage to rack up the highest rate of penalty points.

Fewer than half of commuters in the city use a car compared to 57% around the country, while bus and train use in Dublin is twice what it is elsewhere.

However, the survey showed the mid-east, at 17.7%, and Dublin city, at 16.4%, had the highest levels of licence holders with penalty points.

Dublin was 13% above the State average for household disposable income followed by the mid-east at 1.3% above the national average.

But this was being hit hard by the cost of childcare, at its highest in Dublin at €145 a week compared with €124 in the mid-east and €121 nationally.

Average price levels were 4.3% higher in Dublin compared with outside.

However, issues such as the cost of living, crime and lengthy commutes appear to be an accepted part of life in the city if voter apathy is anything to go by.

A study of the 2002 general election showed voter participation was down to 71.4% in Dublin compared with a national average of 75.9%.

In the capital about a third of eligible voters said they were either away or too busy to go to the polls.

Outside the capital, Donegal was experiencing the lowest disposable income, at 82.1% of the national average while along with Leitrim the two counties had the largest numbers of unoccupied houses.