4,581,269: Population boom set to put pressure on public services

PRESSURE on school, hospital and transport infrastructure as well as other public services is expected to increase after the latest census revealed how 100,000 more people are living in Ireland than planners and policymakers had estimated.

With more than 4.5 million citizens, the population of Ireland is moving towards post-Famine levels and is the fastest-growing in Europe, according to the Central Statistics Office.

Preliminary results of Census 2011 published yesterday show the population of Co Cork has exceeded 500,000 for the first time since the Famine, while 1.27 million people live in Dublin.