The Fastest Growing Population In The EU!

Over 600,000 Added To Census Since 1996

Ireland's population has grown faster than any other EU nation over the past ten years, according to the results of this year's government census.

The census shows that the population of Ireland has risen from 3,626,087 in 1996 to 4,234,925 this year, a growth rate of 1.6% per year, far outstripping most other EU countries.

Most of the growth can be attributed to migrant workers, which is reflected in the 2% increase in population between 2002 and 2006.

However the economic strength of Ireland and the attendant low unemployment figures have also spurred a 'baby boom'.

Ireland now has its highest population since 1861, with 1.4m more people living here than during the low point of the 1960s when emigration left just 2.8m people in the south.

The national census figures show that most of the population boom is concentrated in Dublin and surrounding 'commuter counties' such as Meath, Kildare, Laois, Longford and Offaly.

In total the 'commuter counties' account for almost a third of the national population boom.

Just two cities, Cork and Limerick, showed a slight decrease in the number of people living in them, however that is primarily because of the availability of cheaper housing outside the city limits.

The area which recorded the highest population growth is Blanchardstown in north Dublin which grew from 24,404 residents in 2002 to 32,305 in 2006.

Commuter towns on the outskirts of Dublin, such as Swords and Finglas, showed huge growth levels of 22% and 24.5% respectively. Swords now has almost the same population as Waterford City.

The rising population has however presented the government with a problem, as some constituencies, particularly in Dublin, now have more than 30,000 voters per TD, which is against the constitution.

But the prospect of boundary changes taking place before the next general election, which is expected to be in May 2007, are slim.

Already the Dublin West constituency is in breach of the constitution as it has 30,033 voters per TD.

Its population grew by a staggering 27% over the past four years.

Its neighbouring constituency, Dublin North, needs just four more people to also break the 30,000 per TD requirement.

A number of TD's have indicated that if boundary changes aren't made before next May they will take constitutional challenges to the government, throwing plans for the election into disarray.

Independent TD, Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central), Fine Gael councillor Leo Vardakas (Dublin West) and Catherine Murphy (Kildare North) said they would be prepared to go to the courts on the basis that the next election would be unconstitutional.

The government however was remaining tight-lipped about its intentions. However the census figures have cast the spotlight onto the huge demographic changes that have taken place in Ireland over the past decade.

Towns which for decades experienced huge population losses, as Irish people sought work in the US and England, have recorded their first increases in decades.

Leitrim recorded an 11.8% increases since 2002, only the second time the county has grown in population size since the 1800s.

The population of Leitrim has dropped every year since the famine and in the 1980s some of the county's GAA clubs couldn't field a team because of the high levels of emigration.

The new found success of Leitrim is attributed partly to the government's Rural Renewal Tax Incentive scheme which encouraged people to build in their own areas.

The arrival of US credit card giant, MBNA, to the area has also provided much needed employment and stimulated the local economy.

The population of Donegal, where buses left daily to bring workers to England in the 1980s, recorded a population increase of 6.8%, while Mayo and Sligo's populations were up 5.3% and 4.6% respectively.