2006 Census Report - Irish society is changing dramatically
In the most comprehensive picture of Irish society ever depicted, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) report gives the breakdown of the population by age, sex, marital status, household composition, residence, nationality, place of birth, ethnic or cultural background as well as information on the Irish language, religion and housing.
Astonishingly, in the course of four short years, the number of non-nationals in the Republic has virtually doubled from 224,000 in 2002 to 420,000.
For the first time, flesh has been put on the bones of speculation about the number of second homes owned by Irish people. Intriguingly, researchers have produced mind-boggling statistics showing that out of a total stock of 1.77 million houses, a staggering 265,500 were vacant. While it is unclear if these were holiday homes, investment properties, empty flats or apartments, what is clear is that a vast amount of wealth lies dormant in vacant property.
Of over 300,000 houses built in recent years, a whopping 120,000, more than one-in-three, are vacant residences or holiday homes. This revelation goes a long way towards explaining why house prices have literally been going through the roof, much to the frustration of young couples struggling to get a foothold on the property ladder.
The Census also shows that divorce is on the increase and couples are having fewer children with the result that family size is changing dramatically. In the space of a generation, Irish women are now having fewer children, with the average number down to 1.3 from 3.5 children per woman.
Thanks largely to advances in medicine and lifestyles which, it has to be said, are changing for the better, people are living longer. In every census since 1961, the number of people over 65 has grown and according to this report the number aged over 65 now stands at 468,000, which represents 11% of the total population.
This is a pensions time bomb as the average age of the State’s population now stands at 35.6 years. The sprawling suburbs of Dublin Fingal have the youngest population with an average age of 32.2 whereas Roscommon has the oldest people in the State with an average age of 38.3 in 2006,
In another revealing glimpse of the changing face of modern Ireland, divorce is on the increase. Reflecting its legalisation here in 1997, the results show that between 2002 and 2006 the number of divorced persons soared from 35,000 to 59,500.
Significantly, the proportion of Irish speakers has declined in all Gaeltacht areas apart from the smaller Irish-speaking communities of Meath and Waterford.
Mirroring a long established European pattern, Ireland is now a nation of high inward migration, with non-nationals comprising of 10% of the total population compared to 5.8% four years ago. This trend has enormous implications for government policies on such vital issues as housing, education, health, social inclusion, migration, labour relations and wage structures.
Finally, after Roman Catholics and Protestants, Muslims are now Ireland’s third largest religious group. Arguably, that is the most profound reflection of Ireland’s rapidly changing face.
