POPULATION RISES BY 4,285 IN COUNTY
CENSUS FIGURES FOR WEXFORD ARE RELEASED,
IN WEXFORD THERE IS A TOTAL OF 13,168 VACANT DWELLINGS – A VACANCY RATE OF 19.1% ALTHOUGH THIS FIGURE DOES INCLUDE HOLIDAY DWELLINGS
WEXFORD’S population grew by 4,285 people during the five years between the 2011 Census and the 2016 Census, the preliminary figures for which have just been released.
The preminary figures cover details of population, including net migration, and housing, including the numbers of vacant houses in each county.
The total population of Ireland, enumerated on census night April 24, was 4,757,976, an increase of 169,724 (3.7 per cent) on the 2011 census. The population of Wexford was recorded at 149,605.
The figures show that net migration from County Wexford was 1,311 people, the highest in the South East. Neighbouring Kilkenny showed a net increase of 127 people, Wicklow, a decline of 859, Carlow a fall of 344 and Waterford where net migration stood at 1,145.
Net outward migration nationally over the five-year period was 28,558.
The population change varied widely across the country with the increase in County Wexford being 4,285 (2.9 per cent). The county with the highest percentage increase was Meath with an increase of 5.9 per cent.
Nationally there has been a substantial decrease in the number of vacant dwellings since 2011 – 13 per cent or nearly 30,000. The overall vacancy rate was 12.8 per cent (259,562 vacant dwellings).
In Wexford the figures show a total of 13,168 vacant dwellings - a vacancy rate of 19.1 per cent, although areas along the coast where there are large numbers of holiday homes are substantially higher.
The total change in the population between censuses is the combined effect of natural increase and net migration - a measure of the movements of persons into and out of the State.
The natural increase in the population is estimated at 198,282 giving an estimated net migration of -28,558 for the state.
Net migration on a county basis varied widely across the state with most counties experiencing net outward migration while a small number witnessed net inward movements.
Brendan Murphy, Statistician at the Central Statistics Office (CSO), said that ‘The preliminary count is based on a clerical summary of each enumeration area compiled by the 4,663 enumerators, while different phases will be published as hey become available during 2017.
In terms of its political representation, Wexford has a population of 29,921 compared to Limerick which has the lowest number of people per TD at 27,916 and Dublin North-West at the other end of the scale at 32,299.
In local population terms, Drinagh in Wexford town has seen a decline of 29 people, compared to Rosslare where the numbers of residents have increased by 79 to 2,136. The number of people living in Ardcavan has inceased by 187 to 2,945.
Wexford Rural has seen a population increase of 391 people to 12,476, while the population of St Helen’s is up by 149 to 2,242. Lady’s Island’s population has risen by 49, an 8.6 per cent increase.
New Ross Rural shows a 1.3 per cent decline, with 51 few people, bringing its population to 3,963, while Old Ross has had an increase of 24 people to 473, a 5.3 per cent change.
In the north of the county, the population of Gorey Rural has surged by 11.4 per cent to 6,861, an increase of 700 people, while that of Courtown has risen by 305 people to 2,622, the 13.2 per cent increase one of the biggest in the county.
Gorey Urban showed only a marginal 1.2 per cent rise of 42 people to 3,505.
Ardamine’s population rose by 372 people to 3,665, and the number of people living in Ballyellis has increased to 412, a 10.5 per cent increase. Around Blackwater, the population of Killincooly has risen by 64 to 607, an 11.8 per cent rise, and to the west of it, Castle Talbot has seen a 10.4 per cent rise to 857.
Enniscorthy Rural’s population has increased by 372 people, or 3.9 per cent to 9,49, while Enniscorthy Urban has seen a 12 per cent rise, with 287 more people bringing its population to 2,671.
Several areas of the county show no change or a small fall in numbers. They include Killenagh, no change, Ford, no change, The Harrow, a fall of 1.7 per cent to 467, Ballyhuskard, which has 10 fewer residents at 1,579 and Artramon, which has 18 fewer, at 642 people, a 2.7 per cent fall.
Having been positive for over 20 years from 1961 to 1981, the sex ratio began to decline steadily from 1986 onwards with fewer males than females in each census, reaching a low point in 1996 with 986 males for every 1,000 females. Strong inward migration, which favoured males over females, resulted in a reversal back to a positive ratio at the time of the 2006 census.
It reversed again with the 2011 census which showed a large fall to 981 males per 1,000 females. The preliminary results from this census show a continuation of this trend with a further fall to 978 males per 1,000 females.
The total housing stock increased by 18,981 between 2011 and 2016 (from 2,003,914 to 2,022,895), although figures on total housing stock contain a small element of both temporary dwellings and communal establishments and so will differ from the definitive figures for permanent housing units which will be published early next year.
The results show that the number of occupied households increased by just over 49,000, while the number of vacant dwellings (excluding holiday homes) fell nationally by 31,698. The number of holiday homes increased marginally by 1,809.
As the number of households increased by just three per cent while the population increased by 3.7 per cent over the five years, household formation has fallen behind population growth over the five years 2011 to 2016.
In County Wexford, the numbers of vacant dwellings have fallen by 15.7 per cent, while the vacancy rate in the county as a percentage of housing stock is 19. Compare that to South Dublin where the figure stands at four and Leitrim, where it’s 30.
In terms of vacancy rates, areas along the coast, where there are large numbers of holiday homes, show the highest percentage in terms of vacant dwellings.
Rosslare, which has 1,885 dwellings, has a vacancy rate of 58.1 per cent, the highest in the county, with 1,095 vacant dwellings and 1,021 vacant holiday homes. By comparison, Wexford Urban electoral areas for example, have far fewer, with rates varying between 19 and almost 24 per cent.
Courtown, which sees huge population inflows from Dublin during the summer months, has a total vacancy rate of 48.3 per cent, with 865 vacant dwellings and 695 vacant holiday homes and even somewhere like Bannow has a vacancy rate of 27.6 per cent, with 158 vacant dwellings and 81 vacant holiday homes.
Census 2016 was the 27th census. The first was carried out in 1821. There was a Census every ten years up to 1946 (with a gap between 1911 and 1926) and every five years since 1951.