Census 2012: Life as we know it

THE unveiling of the first definitive results of the Census 2011 by the Central Statistics Office has given an insight into the last five years of life in Clare. The census that was undertaken almost a year ago on April 10, 2011, examines the overall change in the population since the last census in 2006.
It also provides first results on age and marriage, households and families, as well as including results on nationality, foreign languages, the Irish language, religion and housing.
According to figures revealed in the census, Clare is still very much a Catholic county, with 88.4% of those living here describing themselves as Catholic in the Census 2011. Statistics show Clare people calling themselves Catholic exceeds the national average of 84.2%. The number of people in the county stating they have no religion is 5.5% with 6.1% describing their religion as ‘other’.
According to well-known Clare priest Fr Harry Bohan, the figures for the county are “not surprising”.
“This is the kind of percentage that the Catholic population has had generally for years. It has been this way for generations. Clare is traditionally different to some other counties which may have a larger Church of Ireland population for example.”
The census figures show that Clare’s population has grown to 117,196 people, with women outnumbering men. The figures show there are now 58,898 women to 58,298 men in the county.
Between the 2006 and 2011 census, the county’s population increased by 6,396 or 5.6%, less than the national average of just over 8%. The age breakdown of those living in the county shows 28.5% of the population is between 0 to 19; 59.1% are between the ages of 20 and 64 and 12.4% are over 65.
The figures also shows there were 46,241 married couples in Clare compared to over 60,535 single people on census night. The CSO also documented over 2,252 people divorced, 5,267 widowed and 2,871 separated. It also outlines there are currently 855 Travellers living in Clare.
In examining housing in the county, the census has shown that there is a vacancy rate of almost one fifth. More than 11,000 properties were found to be vacant on census night, with 4,610 of those described as holiday homes. Vacant houses make up 5,936 while 1,236 flats were found to be unoccupied. It outlines that there are 42,534 occupied homes in Clare, with a total housing stock of 55,616.
Commenting on the number of vacant houses in the county auctioneer Cormac O’Sullivan of DNG O’Sullivan Hurley in Ennis told us, “Clare no more than other parts of the west coast is probably one of the favourite holiday destinations for people in the east as well as for those living in Clare and Limerick. People in business during the Celtic Tiger purchased second homes in places like Lahinch and others along the coast.
“There is a ribbon of holiday homes from one end of the coast to the other, as well holiday homes in other places like Mountshannon. Also, Ennis does not have a single ghost estate, as that would be a house that is built and not lived in, with no services, roof etc. But there are a number of housing developments in Ennis where the builder would have retained some units and he might be currently working with his financial institution to see how he can move these on.”