Census figures reveal drop in Mayo’s population

Mayo one of only three counties where population is in decline


Áine Ryan

IT may be only marginal but County Mayo has 213 (0.2 percent) fewer citizens than it had in 2011, according to Census 2016. This is in dramatic contrast to County Meath – a commuter county for Dublin – where there was a population increase of 5.9 percent. The county’s population is now recorded at 130,425, while the entire State’s population is 4,757,976, a growth rate of 3.7 percent since 2011, when it was 4,588,252.
There is also a marginal increase in the female population, which is up to 65,546 (0.5 percent) since 2011 while the male population suffered the biggest decline with 64,879 being recorded, a drop of eight percent.  
Interestingly, Mayo has almost doubled the national average number of vacant dwellings with a total of 15,946 (24 percent) while the average rate across the State was 12.8 percent (259,562).
The urban-rural divide is clearly shown by the fact that the population of Galway city has risen to 79,504 (5.3 percent). Unsurprisingly, net migration varies across the regions with this county assessed at 3,246.  
The preliminary results from Census 2016 offer a broad-sweeping picture with more detailed results and analysis to be published next year. Census 2016 was the 27th census, with the first having been undertaken in 1821. Census 2016 introduced a change to the marital status question, which facilitated a category on same sex civil partnerships.

Questions about ‘recovery’
THE fact that Mayo is ‘one of only three counties to lose population in the past five years confirms many of our fears around the economic  and social state of the county’ exposing the realities around the level of the recovery, according to Deputy Dara Calleary, Fianna FΡil’s spokesman on Public Expenditure and Reform.  
“Talk of a ‘recovery’ in the face of these figures and the associated migration figures is hollow and false, especially to those families who have loved-ones abroad. We need collectively to zero in on the problems that are causing decline. Job creation must be an action point not a talking point,” Dara Calleary told The Mayo News yesterday.  
He continued: “The fact that the LEO (Local Enterprise Office) budget has run out less then six months in to the year demonstrates the crying need for real funding for enterprise support in the county. Existing businesses are been crippled by rates charges that are hampering their ability to employ extra people and once again I reiterate my previous calls for a proper IDA Ireland focus on the county-given the calibre of employee in Mayo we should be attracting a lot more companies in.”
Mr Calleary said that a ‘closer examination of the figures demonstrate that some of our towns are growing at the expense of  the more rural areas in Mayo’.
“We need to review our  own planning laws to determine if these are a deterrent to people coming to live in their home parishes. We also need to get real about  broadband – it is  no longer a luxury, it is a necessity to keep our county alive,” he added.

DID YOU KNOW?
THE preliminary results from Census 2016 offer a broad-sweeping picture with more detailed results and analysis to be published next year. Census 2016 was the 27th census, with the first having been undertaken in 1821. Census 2016 introduced a change to the marital status question, which facilitated a category on same sex civil partnerships. Because of all the political turmoil, there was a gap between 1911 and 1926 during which there was no census undertaken. Since 1951 there has been a census every five years.