Mr. Justin Gleeson:

I thank the Chairman and committee for inviting me to make a presentation on our recently published report, Socio-Economic Profile of the seven Gaeltacht Areas in Ireland. I thank the Irish Research Council which, along with Senator Ó Céidigh, provided co-funding to enable the production of this report.

Before I start, I would like to say a quick word about the All-Island Research Observatory, AIRO, and the work we undertake. We are based at the social science institute at Maynooth University where we have been working on the development of mapping and evidence-based planning projects across the island of Ireland for the last decade or so. In more recent years our team has been working very closely with the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government on the national planning framework for Project Ireland 2040, with the regional assemblies on the development of the regional spatial and economic strategies, and with numerous local authorities on their local economic and community plans, LECPs. All of these initiatives are linked by a common thread, the requirement for the creation of a robust evidence baseline from which sound policy can be developed.

The report about which I am talking this afternoon certainly comes from this line of thinking. It was instigated as a means of providing Government, public bodies and local community groups with key information and visual feeds on which realistic and objective policies can be created. The overarching objective is to enhance the development of the Gaeltacht regions effectively for people living in those communities. As part of the dissemination strategy for the 2016 census, the CSO has published small-area population statistics on a wide range of geographical scales from the level of the State as a whole to that of the local neighbourhood. Included in this, the CSO has produced such data for the seven Gaeltacht areas and the 26 language planning areas, LPTs, as established under the Gaeltacht Act 2012. Based on this data, our report is the first detailed publication made available to profile demographic, social and economic characteristics of the Gaeltacht areas and their local communities actively.

To support the economic indicators and employment further, a detailed jobs profile has also been prepared for each LPT which provides detail on the number of resident workers and local jobs in each area. This profile will prove to be a useful document in future planning and research related to the Gaeltacht. It will be of use to all communities residing within the Gaeltacht and will provide interested parties and groups with an array of data for use in research, planning, policy-making and funding applications.

The report provides a detailed individual profile of each Gaeltacht area and LPT and also highlights the unique challenges that face different parts of each Gaeltacht, including population decline, ageing populations, high unemployment rates and extremely high levels of disadvantage. It is clear from the report that no two Gaeltacht areas are the same. Some are in a far better social and economic positions than others.

I will now provide a very brief summary of some of the key facts covered in the report. In 2016, the total population residing in the Gaeltacht was just under 100,000. This accounts for approximately 2.1% of the State's population. To compare this with the population of other local authorities, it is approximately the same as the population of County Kilkenny. In terms of population size, the Galway and Donegal Gaeltachts are by far the largest, accounting for approximately three quarters of all residents. The other five areas have much smaller populations, ranging from just over 9,000 in Mayo to less than 2,000 each in Meath and Waterford. This population is equivalent to that of a town the size of Abbeyfeale or Enniskerry.

Between 2006 and 2016, the population of the Gaeltacht increased by 4.3%. That is about a third of the national growth rate, approximately 12.5%, over the same period. Over this ten-year period there was a clear spatial pattern in levels of population change within the Gaeltacht areas. By far the largest increases in both numbers and percentage rates have been in the Galway Gaeltacht area, where the population has expanded by approximately 4,500 or 10%. Much of this increase has taken place in the immediate commuter hinterland of Galway city however. Growth rates have been much lower in Gaeltacht areas of other counties, with the populations of Meath and Waterford expanding by approximately 10%, Cork by 3.5%, and Kerry by a marginal 0.6%.

As with national trends, not all areas across the country have seen increases in population over the last decade. In fact, the populations of more than a quarter of all electoral divisions in Ireland have decreased since 2006. This is also the case in large parts of rural and peripheral areas across the Gaeltacht. Throughout this period the most notable declines have been within the population residing in the Gaeltacht areas of Donegal and Mayo. The highest level of decline over the last decade has been in the Gaeltacht area of Mayo, which witnessed a total reduction in its population of approximately 500 people or 4.5%. The Gaeltacht population residing in Mayo stands out among all other counties and has been suffering continual decline, with its current population now just 30% lower than in 1966.

Relative to the State average, the combined Gaeltacht areas have a much higher percentage of older people in their population profile, more than 16.5%. In comparison, the State average is approximately 13.4%. However, there is substantial variation in the age profile across the seven Gaeltacht areas, with approximately a fifth or 20% of the populations of Mayo, Donegal and Kerry being aged 65 or older. In contrast, rates are much lower in the Gaeltacht areas of Meath, Galway and Waterford where rates are below 13%. As with the Gaeltacht areas, there is also a lot of variation across the LPTs. Nearly a third of the populations of Arranmore and west Mayo are aged 65 or older. In contrast, the areas of Barna and Knocknacarra and Galway city east have rates below 10%. The latest CSO population projections for 2018 reveal that there will be an additional 900,000 persons aged 65 or older in the country by 2051. This equates to an increase from 13.4% in 2016 to more than a quarter of our population by 2051. With the rates in many Gaeltacht areas already well above the State average, this changing demographic trend will likely have a significant impact on future service delivery and community well-being within the Gaeltacht areas.

According to the 2016 census, there were just under 7,000 persons unemployed in the Gaeltacht areas, a census unemployment rate of 15.1%, which is higher than the State average of 12.9%. In contrast to this, rates are much lower in other areas. It is less than 13% in the Cork Gaeltacht area. The highest rates are in the Gaeltacht areas of Donegal and Mayo, where more than a fifth of the labour force is classed as unemployed.

Over the last 25 years education attainment has greatly improved across Ireland. This trend for increased overall educational attainment is also recorded in the Gaeltacht, although there is still a wide gap between attainment rates in the Gaeltacht and in the State as a whole. In 2016, the highest level of education of more than 11,000 persons residing in the Gaeltacht was classified as no formal education or primary education only. This represents a rate of 17%, which is much higher than the State average of 12.5%. Again there is a big fluctuation within the seven Gaeltacht areas, with approximately a quarter of the populations of both the Donegal and Mayo Gaeltacht classified as having no formal education or primary education only. All other Gaeltacht areas recorded much lower rates, below 13%.

The difference in educational attainment levels is even more stark between the LPTs, with Barna and Knocknacarra recording a rate of 4% while Arranmore recorded a rate of more than 40%.

The main measure of affluence and disadvantage in Ireland is based on the Pobal HP deprivation index. It is regarded as the key metric used in funding allocation programmes. The index is based on three dimensions of affluence and disadvantage: demographic profile; social class composition; and labour market situation. As a whole, the combined Gaeltacht areas have a recorded Pobal deprivation score of -2, which is classed as marginally below average. The Gaeltacht areas of Donegal and Mayo are both classed as being disadvantaged while the other Gaeltacht areas are classed as marginally above average. According to the Pobal data, 27% of the population of the Gaeltacht falls within the categories of being disadvantaged or very disadvantaged. This is a worrying trend which is likely to accelerate in years to come.

I am happy to take questions on my presentation, the findings and use of the wider report, and to propose next steps.