Profile-Galway West - Houses of the Oireachtas
CONSTITUENCY PROFILE:
GALWAY WEST
This profile is based on the Census
of Population 2006 which took
disability is lower in Galway West
place in the Republic of Ireland on
than nationally (see Figure 3).
26th April 2006.
later and with higher qualifications
In general Galway West’s profile is similar
Introduction
2
Glossary
3
who can speak Irish in Galway West
Demographics
4
is much higher than the national
Families
8
Education
10
Employment
12
Households and housing Voting and turnout
than people nationally (see Figure 8
to the rest of the country. However, there are a few notable differences:
The proportion of the population
average (see Table 1).
The average age of the population in Galway West is below the national average and the share of the
People in Galway West are much more likely to have left education
Key Highlights
CONTENTS
The share of the population with a
and Table 3).
There is a higher than average share of students in the Galway West population (see Figure 9).
The share of the Galway West workforce
in
professional
occupations is significantly above the national average (see Figure 10).
population aged between 20 and 30 16
years is well above the national average (see Figure 2).
20
No liability is accepted to any person arising out of any reliance on the contents of this paper. Nothing herein constitutes professional advice of any kind. This document contains a general summary of developments and is not complete or definitive. It has been prepared for distribution to Members to aid them in their Parliamentary duties. Authors are available to discuss the contents of these papers with Members and their staff.
Introduction This profile is based on Census 2006 Small Area Statistics data published online at www.cso.ie/census/SAPs.htm. The census took place in the Republic of Ireland on 26th April 2006. The Oireachtas Library & Research Service (L&RS) used this publicly available information to create profiles for the 43 constituencies used in the 2007 General Election. The profiles cover: demographic characteristics; the make-up of households and families; ethnic diversity; nationality and religion; education and employment profiles; and the state of the constituency’s housing stock. The L&RS has also added some electoral information for each constituency. The variables used were selected from those available from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) in order to provide a reasonably detailed overview of the constituency. In calculating percentages, constituents who did not provide a response were excluded (unless otherwise indicated). A copy of the census questionnaire is available on the CSO website. The terminology used throughout this profile is, in general, the same as that used by the CSO. The census data does not identify individual people; if certain variables could be used to identify people at the constituency level, this data is combined into larger groups by the CSO to prevent such identification. Percentages may not sum to 100 due to rounding. A glossary of terms used by the CSO is provided at the beginning of the profile to give further information on selected variables. This profile and profiles for the other 42 Dáil constituencies may be downloaded from the Oireachtas website (www.oireachtas.ie) – they are accessible from the Dáil Éireann navigation menu. Oireachtas Library & Research Service 2008
2
Glossary VARIABLE
DEFINITION
Private household
A private household comprises either one person living alone or a group of people (not necessarily related) living at the same address with common housekeeping arrangements - that is, sharing at least one meal a day or sharing a living room or sitting room.
Permanent private household
This is a private household occupying a permanent dwelling such as a house, flat, apartment or bedsitter.
Usually resident
This includes people enumerated (counted) in the area of their usual residence, together with other people usually resident in that area who were enumerated elsewhere in the State. Usual residents of an area who were not in the State on census night are not included in the figures.
Housing unit
A housing unit is a conventional house, a structurally separate flat or apartment, or a mobile or temporary dwelling, regardless of the number of private households it contains.
Family unit
A family unit is defined as: (1) a husband and wife or a cohabiting couple; or (2) a husband and wife or a cohabiting couple together with one or more usually resident never-married children (of any age); or (3) one parent together with one or more usually resident never-married children (of any age). Family members have to be usual residents of the relevant household.
Industry
The 2006 Census uses the General Industrial Classification of Economic Activities within the European Communities (NACE) to code industries. Whatever their occupation, the industry in which a person is engaged is determined by the main economic activity carried out in the local unit in which he or she works. The term “industry” used for Census of Population purposes is not confined to manufacturing industry. Instead, it refers to the “sector of economic activity”. In the case of employees, industrial classification is based on the business or profession of their employer and in the case of self-employed people, on the nature of their own business or profession.
Occupation
The occupation classification used in the census is based on the UK Standard Occupational Classification, with modifications to reflect Irish labour market conditions. The code to which a person’s occupation is classified is determined by the kind of work he or she performs in earning a living, irrespective of where or why it is performed. The nature of the industry, business or service in which the person is working has no bearing upon the classification of the occupation. For example, the occupation “clerk” covers clerks employed in manufacturing industries, commerce, banking, insurance, public administration, professions and other services, etc.
Source: Appendices of various Census 2006 publications The data on industries and occupations is aggregated into a small number of broad level groups. Detailed lists of the industries and occupations that make up these groups are on the Constituency Profiles page of the Oireachtas website. 3
Demographics This section covers: Demographic breakdown (Table 1) Marital status (Figure 1) Age profile (Figure 2) Disability (Figure 3) Nationality (Table 2) Ethnicity (Table 2) Religion (Figure 4) Demographic breakdown Higher population growth than the national average Lower proportion of males than the national average Significantly more Irish speakers than the national average In 2006 3.1% of the Irish population lived in Galway West. The constituency had a higher population growth between 2002 and 2006 than the country as a whole (see Table 1). There are fewer males than females in Galway West, with 97.7 males for every 100 females – this compares to an almost-equal distribution nationally. Galway West is the Dáil constituency with the highest share of Irish language speakers.
Table 1: Demographic breakdown State
Galway West
Population 2006
4,239,848
131,041
Population 2002
3,917,203
118,370
Share of total population
100%
3.1%
Population growth 2002-2006
8.2%
10.7%
Ratio of males to 100 females
100.1
97.7
Share with Irish language (Population aged 3 or above)
40.8%
51.9%
Marital Status Below average marriage rate People in Galway West are less likely to be married than the national population (42.3% vs. 48.8%) and are also less likely to be separated/divorced or widowed (see Figure 1).
4
Figure 1: Marital status of those aged 18 and over State
Galway West
5.9%
4.5%
5.2%
4.8%
48.4%
40.0% 42.3%
48.8%
■
■
Single
■
Married
■
Separated/Divorced
Widowed
Age Profile Larger proportion of 20 to 29 year olds than the national average Fewer people aged 65 years and older than the national average The average age of the Galway West population is 34.5 years. This is below the national average of 35.6 years. Figure 2 shows that compared to the national figures there are proportionally more people in Galway West aged between 20 and 29 years (22.1% vs. 16.9%). There are fewer people aged less than 15 years (18.4% vs. 20.4%). This profile is probably due to the location of third level education institutions in the constituency. Figure 9 (see employment section) shows that there is a higher than average share of students in Galway West. In addition, there are proportionally fewer people aged over 65 years in Galway West than in the State as a whole (9.4% vs. 11.0%).
Figure 2: Age profile of population Galway West
State
Age 85+
1.0%
1.1%
80-84
1.2%
1.5%
75-79
1.8%
2.2%
2.4%
2.8%
70-74
3.0%
3.4%
65-69
3.9%
4.3%
60-64
4.9%
5.3%
55-59
5.6%
5.8%
50-54
6.2%
6.5% 7.1%
45-49
8.2% 8.8%
8.6%
30-34
10.6%
25-29
11.5%
8.1% 5.8%
7.1% 8%
10-14
6.0%
6.8%
05-09 0-04
6.6% 6%
4%
2%
■
State
0%
■
2%
4%
6%
20-24 15-19
7.4%
6.8% 6.5%
10%
35-39
7.1%
7.6%
12%
40-44
6.5%
8%
10%
12%
Galway West
5
Disability Disability rates below the national average In the 2006 Census 10,513 people in Galway West indicated that they had a disability – or 8.0% of the population (see Figure 3). This is less than the national average of 9.3%. Approximately 27.7% of those aged 65 years and older in Galway West have a disability – below the national average. All age groups in Galway West have below average disability rates.
Figure 3: Share of people with a disability by age group
■
State
■
Galway West
35%
29.5%
30%
27.7%
25% 20% 15%
12.4%
11.2%
9.3%
10% 5%
3.8%
3.3%
4.6%
3.9%
5.8%
8.0%
5.4%
0%
0-14 yrs
15-24 yrs
25-44 yrs
45-64 yrs
65 yrs & over
All ages
Nationality and ethnicity Fewer Irish nationals than the national average Slightly more ethnic diversity than the national average There are 127,127 people who are usually resident in Galway West, with 86.5% identifying their nationality as Irish – slightly below the national average. Residents of Galway West are more likely to hold non-EU citizenship (see Table 2). There are proportionally more Polish nationals in Galway West than in the State as a whole. The share of UK nationals is the same as the national average. Compared to the national average, Galway West is slightly less racially and ethnically homogenous with 84.3% of individuals identifying themselves as White Irish compared to 87.4% nationally. There are proportionally more Black or Black Irish in Galway West than nationally (1.7% vs. 1.1%). In Galway West the share of White Irish Travellers is just over double the share in the country as a whole.
Table 2: Usually resident population by nationality and ethnicity
6
Nationality
State
Galway West
Ethnicity
State
Galway West
Irish
88.8%
86.5%
White Irish
87.4%
84.3%
United Kingdom
2.7%
2.7%
White Irish Traveller
0.5%
1.1%
Polish
1.5%
2.4%
Other White
6.9%
8.8%
Lithuanian
0.6%
0.5%
Black or Black Irish
1.1%
1.7%
Other EU
1.8%
2.6%
Asian or Asian Irish
1.3%
1.1%
Non-EU / Not stated
4.5%
5.3%
Other / Not stated
2.8%
3.1%
Religion Fewer Catholics than the national average Proportionally more people who have no religion than the national average A smaller proportion of Galway West people classify themselves as Catholics than in the State as a whole and people from Galway West are more likely to define themselves as having no religion. They are also less likely to report that they have another stated religion1 (see Figure 4).
Figure 4: Usually resident population by religion State
Galway West
4.4% 1.7%
6.1% 1.9%
7.1%
6.4%
86.8%
■
1
Catholic
■
Other stated religion
85.6%
■
No religion
■
Religion not stated
While the census overall gives a more detailed breakdown of different religions, the CSO does not publish a more detailed breakdown at constituency level - as this may identify certain individuals or families.
7
Families This section covers: Family cycle (Figure 5) Family size (Figure 6) Family type (Figure 7)
Family cycle Fewer families with adult children than the national average Slightly more families with pre-school age children than the national average There are 20,040 family units with children in Galway West. Figure 5 shows the proportion of these families by family cycle based on the age of the youngest child. In Galway West 16.6% of families have children at pre-school level – a little above than national average. The proportion of families with adult children is lower in Galway West than in the State overall (34.8% vs. 36.4%).
Figure 5: Proportion of families by family cycle
■
State
■
Galway West 36.4%
45%
34.8%
40% 35% 30% 25% 20%
15.9%
16.6%
15.6%
15.7%
17.5% 14.7%
17.9%
14.9%
15% 10% 5% 0%
Pre-school
Early school
Pre-adolescent
Adolescent
Adult
Family size Fewer households with younger children than the national average In Galway West there are 12,580 families with at least one child under 15 years of age.2 This means that 28.1% of households have families with children under 15 years compared to 31.4% of households nationally. In Galway West 29.6% of these families have one child, with 35% having two children. These figures are slightly below the national average. Approximately 3.5% of these families in Galway West have five or more children – close to the national average.
2
8
We present data (Figure 6) on families with younger children (i.e. those under 15 years old).The census also includes data on families with children aged 15 years and older but these figures include adult children.
Figure 6: Proportion of families with at least one child under 15 years, by number of children
5 or more children
3.4% 3.5% 8.6% 8.8%
4 children
22.2% 23.1%
3 children
36.0% 35.0%
2 children 29.9% 29.6%
1 child 0%
5%
10%
15%
■
State
20%
■
25%
30%
35%
40%
Galway West
Family type More single mother families than the national average Figure 7 shows that in Galway West there are slightly more families with at least one child under 15 years old headed by a single mother; 20.2% compared to 19.7% nationally. Approximately the same percentage of families are headed by single fathers in Galway West as in the State as a whole (1.5% vs. 1.6%).
Figure 7: Single parent families and other families with at least one child under 15 years old State
Galway West
1.6%
1.5% 19.7%
20.2%
78.7%
■
78.4%
Single father with children
■
Single mother with children
■
Couples with children
9
Education This section covers: Education by age ceased (Figure 8) Education qualifications (Table 3)
Education by age ceased More men and women finish education at age 21 or above than the national average
Women are less likely to have left education at age 15 or below than the national average Men in Galway West are more likely to have finished their education at a later age than men in the rest of the country. Approximately 40% of men completed their education at age 17 or below compared to 50% of men in the State as a whole. Nationally 23% of men finished their education aged 21 years or above compared to 32% of Galway West men. Galway West women are less likely to have finished their education aged 15 years or under (14% vs. 19%) than women in the rest of the State. In addition, they are more likely to have continued their education past the age of 20, with 35% of women completing education aged 21 years or above in Galway West compared to the national average of 24% (see Figure 8).
Figure 8: Males and females aged 15 and over by age education ceased Male
Female
100%
100% 23%
24% 32%
75%
35%
75%
5% 5%
5% 7%
6%
7%
6%
17%
19%
50%
7%
50%
16% 12%
18% 13%
9% 15% 12%
25% 9%
25%
13%
10% 9%
7%
7%
12%
12%
9%
State
Galway West
5% 14%
0%
0%
State
10
Galway West
Under 15yrs
15yrs
16yrs
17yrs
18yrs
19yrs
20yrs
21yrs & over
Qualifications achieved Proportionally more males with primary or post-graduate degrees than the national average Proportionally more females with third level qualifications than the national average Men in Galway West are less likely (by 6 percentage points) than men nationally to report that they have left education at lower secondary level or below (see Table 3). They are more likely to report that they have a primary or post-graduate degree. On average, the education level of Irish females is above that of Irish males. In Galway West this is also the case. The share of females with some form of third level qualification is 42%, compared to 34% of males in Galway West. They are also more likely to have third level qualifications than women nationally (42% vs. 31%). Women in Galway West are much less likely to have left education at lower secondary level or below than women nationally.
Table 3:
Highest education achieved by those aged 15 or over who have completed education MALE State
FEMALE
Galway West
State
Galway West
Primary or lower
19%
17%
17%
13%
Lower secondary education
21%
17%
19%
14%
Upper secondary and/or technical
29%
28%
28%
27%
9%
10%
12%
14%
11%
15%
12%
17%
Post-graduate or PhD
6%
9%
7%
11%
Not stated
5%
4%
5%
4%
100%
100%
100%
100%
Non-degree third level Primary degree or equivalent
The presence of third level institutions in the constituency could explain these results. It is likely that a large number of students of these institutions stay in the area after completing their education. Students who have not yet finished their education are not represented in the figures and thus are not directly responsible of the disproportional share of people with additional years’ education.
11
Employment This section covers: Economic status (Figure 9) Sector employed (Table 4) Occupation (Figure 10) Journey time to work/school (Figure 11) Method of transport to work/school (Figure 12) Volunteering (Figure 13)
Economic status Proportionally fewer men at work than the national average Substantially more students than the national average Figure 9 shows that Galway West women are more likely to be at work (by 1.1 percentage points) and less likely to be looking after home/family (by 3.9 percentage points) than Irish women generally. Men in Galway West are less likely to be at work than men nationally (by 3.7 percentage points). The shares of both sexes who are students are much higher than the national average.
Figure 9: Principal economic status of those aged 15 or over Male
100%
75%
Female
1.0%
1.2%
4.2%
3.9%
12.7%
10.9%
9.8%
14.1%
6.4%
100% 21.8%
75%
4.0%
17.9% 2.9% 9.0%
10.5%
7.7%
15.7% 10.9%
50%
66.0%
50%
4.3%
4.8%
25%
48.5%
49.6%
62.3%
25%
0%
0%
State
Galway West
At Work
Unemployed
State
Student
Retired/Other
Unable to work due to permanent sickness or disability Looking after home/family
12
Galway West
Sector employed Proportionally more are employed in health and education and manufacturing than the national average Proportionally fewer are employed in agriculture, commerce and trade, and construction than the national average The total number of people at work in Galway West at the time of the census was 59,755. Females made up 45.4% of the Galway West workforce – above the national average of 42.6%. In 2006 15.3% of workers in Galway West were self employed; 0.7 percentage points lower than the national average. The largest sector in terms of employment, with 14,505 people employed, was commerce and trade (see Table 4). This sector includes shops and wholesalers, financial institutions, real estate firms and other business activities. However, workers in Galway West are less likely (by 2.8 percentage points) to be employed in the commerce and trade sector than workers nationally. They are less also likely than average to work in the construction and agriculture, forestry and fishing sectors. People in Galway West are more likely to work in the manufacturing and health and education sectors than is the case nationally.
Table 4: Sector of employment of those at work GALWAY WEST Total Employed
STATE
Sector Share %
Sector Share %
Agriculture, forestry and fishing
1,615
2.7%
4.6%
Building and construction
6,213
10.4%
11.1%
Manufacturing industries
9,041
15.1%
13.6%
14,505
24.3%
27.1%
Transport and communications
2,427
4.1%
5.5%
Public administration
2,395
4.0%
5.2%
Health and education
11,798
19.7%
16.5%
Other
11,761
19.7%
16.3%
Overall
59,755
100.0%
100.0%
Commerce and trade
Occupation Proportionally fewer agricultural workers than the national average Proportionally more professional workers than the national average Proportionally fewer transport, clerical, and managerial and government workers than the national average Galway West has a lower than average share of its workers in agricultural occupations (2.6% vs. 4.5%). It has a much higher than average share of workers in professional occupations, by 4.8 percentage points (see Figure 10). Its shares of workers in transport, clerical, managerial and government occupations are below the national average. See Figure 10 overleaf
13
Figure 10: Occupations of those at work
Farming, fishing & foresty managers
3.7% 2.1% 0.8% 0.5%
Other agricultural workers
11.9% 11.6%
Manufacturing workers 8.8% 8.5%
Building & construction Workers
9.1%
Clerical & office workers
8.0% 9.3%
Managerial & government workers
7.8% 5.7%
Transport workers
4.4% 14.1% 13.8%
Sales workers
17.3%
Professional workers
22.1% 11.1% 12.3%
Services workers 8.3% 8.9%
Other workers
0%
5%
10%
■
State
■
15%
20%
25%
Galway West
Journey time to work/school Shorter commute than the national average People in Galway West spend less time travelling to work or school than the national average. The average travel time in Galway West is approximately 22.2 minutes as opposed to 26.5 minutes nationally. Figure 11 shows that more people in Galway West have short commutes (less than 15 minutes) than the national average. In addition, fewer people in Galway West have commutes lasting 45 minutes or over than the national average (8.0% vs. 15.2%).
Figure 11: People aged 5 and over by journey time to work, school or college 2.7% 1.2%
Under 15 minutes
6.4%
15-30 minutes
3.0% 6.1%
30-45 minutes
3.8% 16.6% 15.4%
45-60 minutes
30.5%
60-90 minutes
36.7% 37.7% 40.0%
Over 90 minutes 0%
5%
10%
15%
■
14
State
20%
■
25%
Galway West
30%
35%
40%
45%
50%
Method of transport to work/school Proportionally more commuters by car than the national average People in Galway West are more likely to travel to work or school by car, either as a passenger or as a driver, and less likely to travel by public transport than people nationally (see Figure 12). However, 78.6% of permanent private households own one or more cars in Galway West, while the figure for the whole country is 80.3%. People in Galway West are more likely than average to walk or cycle to work or school.
Figure 12: People aged 5 and over by means of travel to work, school or college 50%
40.7% 41.2% 40% 30% 20%
15.8%
18.6%
16.7% 18.7% 11.9%
10%
2.0%
10.3%
9.6%
3.1%
2.6%
8.6%
0.2%
0%
On foot
Bicycle
Bus, minibus or coach
■
Train, DART or LUAS
State
■
Car driver
Car passenger
Other
Galway West
Volunteering Higher rate of volunteerism than the national average Both men and women are more likely to volunteer to social or charitable organisations than the national average Both men and women are less likely to volunteer to religious organisations than the national average In Galway West 18,632 people aged 15 years or over volunteer for at least one activity. People in Galway West are slightly more likely to participate in a voluntary organisation than the national population. Nationally 16.4% of people volunteer in some way but this figure is 17.4% in Galway West. Figure 13 looks at the types of organisations to which individuals volunteer.3 Men in Galway West are more likely to volunteer to social or charitable organisations then men nationally. This is also true of women in Galway West. Both men and women in Galway West are less likely to volunteer to religious organisations.
Figure 13: Share of those aged 15 and over participating in voluntary activity by gender and nature of activity Male
Female
10%
10%
7.4% 7.4%
8% 6%
4.7%
8%
3.4%
3.7%
3.0% 1.6%
5.2%
5.1% 4.8%
4.6%
2%
4.6% 3.3% 3.2%
4%
2.0%
1.2% 1.5%
2%
0%
0% Social or charitable
Religious group or church
Sporting
Political or cultural
Any other voluntary activity
■
3
7.2%
6%
5.2%
4%
6.7%
State
Social or charitable
■
Religious group or church
Sporting
Political or cultural
Any other voluntary activity
Galway West
The percentage shares participating in various voluntary activities in Figure 13 do not add up to the overall share of the population aged 15 years or over participating in voluntary activity as some individuals participate in more than one type of activity.
15
Households and Housing This section covers: Household type and size (Figure 14) Occupancy type (Figure 15) Age of housing stock (Figure 16) Type of water supply (Figure 17) Type of sewerage facilities (Figure 18) Access to a computer and the Internet (Figure 19)
Household type and size Householders more likely to live in a flat or apartment than the national average Average household size close to the national average There are 44,714 private households in Galway West with 124,368 people living in them. Households in Galway West are less likely to live in a house or bungalow (84.2%) than people elsewhere in the State (89.2%) and more likely to live in a flat/apartment or bedsit (15.2% vs. 10.3%). Approximately 0.6% of households live in caravans. Overall the average household size is similar in Galway West and the State. Galway West has an average of 2.78 people per household compared to an average of 2.81 people nationally. However, Galway West has slightly fewer four and five-person households and slightly more two and three-person households (see Figure 14).
Figure 14: Proportion of households by size 28.3% 28.7%
30% 25%
22.4% 22.4% 18.1% 18.6%
20%
16.6% 16.1%
15%
9.3%
10%
9.0% 3.7%
5%
3.6% 1.0%
1.0%
0.5%
0.5%
0%
1 person
2 people
3 people
4 people
■
State
■
5 people
Galway West
6 people
7 people
8 or more people
Occupancy type Householders less likely to own homes than the national average Fewer householders own homes outright than the national average A total of 44,473 households in Galway West live in permanent private dwellings. People in Galway West are less likely to live in owner-occupied homes (65.4%) than people elsewhere in Ireland (74.7%). Households in Galway West are less likely to own their houses outright than the national average. A total of 30.5% of permanent private households own their homes outright in Galway West compared to 34.1% nationally (see Figure 15). Within Galway West more owner occupiers hold mortgages on their homes4 than own their homes outright. Proportionally more households in Galway West rent from the private sector than nationally. 4
16
Owner occupiers with mortgages include the ‘owner occupied with mortgage’ and ‘buying from local authority’ groups from Figure 15.
Figure 15: Share of people in permanent private households by type of occupancy 50%
40%
39.0% 33.9%
34.1%
30.5%
30%
17.6%
20%
9.9%
10%
7.2% 1.6%
5.6%
3.5%
1.0%
6.1% 1.5%
3.2%
1.5%
3.8%
0%
Owner occupied with mortgage
Owner occupied no mortgage
Buying from local authority
Rented from Rented from local voluntary authority body
■
State
■
Private rented
Occupied free of rent
Not stated
Galway West
Age of housing stock Proportionally more very new houses than the national average The age of occupied houses in is quite different in Galway West from the national profile (see Figure 16). Galway West has substantially less pre-1961 housing stock than the national average (16.2% vs. 29.0%). Between 1991 and 2006 46.1% of the housing stock of Galway West was completed compared to 35.7% of the national housing stock.
Figure 16: Share of permanent private households by year house built
25%
22.2% 20%
17.9% 15.2% 15.2%
14.6%
15%
11.1%
10.2%
10%
5%
14.3%
11.9% 7.7% 4.5%
9.6% 6.6%
8.1% 7.9%
11.1%
6.7%
5.1%
0%
Pre 1919
1919 to 1940
1941 to 1960
1961 to 1970
■
State
1971 to 1980
■
1981 to 1990
1991 to 1995
1996 to 2000
2001 or later
Galway West
17
Type of water supply Less likely to source water privately than the national average Figure 17 shows that Galway West households are more likely to be attached to a public water supply (88.1% vs. 83.5%) and less likely to obtain water through a private source (7.8% vs. 13.1%). Other census data (not shown) reveals that permanent private households in Galway West are less likely to have central heating than the rest of the State (86.3% vs. 90.4%).
Figure 17: Share of permanent private households by type of water supply State
9.9%
Galway West
3.5%
4.1% 4.1% 3.7%
3.2% 13.9% 8.7% 74.2%
74.8%
■
Public main
■
Group scheme with local authority source
■
■
Other private source
■
Group scheme with private source
None or not stated
Types of sewerage facilities Proportionally more individual septic tanks than the national average Figure 18 shows that Galway West households are less likely to manage their waste water through a public scheme (61.9% vs. 67.6%) and more likely to have an individual septic tank (35.2%) than households nationally (29.5%).
Figure 18: Share of private households by type of sewerage facilities
0.3%
No sewerage facility
0.2% 2.6%
Other
2.7% 29.5%
Individual septic tank
35.2% 67.6%
Public scheme
61.9% 0%
10%
20%
30%
■
18
State
40%
■
50%
Galway West
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Access to a computer and the Internet More likely to have PC, Internet access and broadband than the national average Households in Galway West are more likely to have a PC (57.6% vs. 56.6%) and access to the Internet (48.1% vs. 46.7%) than other households in the State. In addition, this Internet access is slightly more likely to be via broadband; 22.8% of households in Galway West had broadband Internet access compared with 20% for the State as a whole in 2006 (see Figure 19).
Figure 19: Computers and access to the Internet - share of households
60%
56.6%
57.6% 46.7%
50%
48.1%
40% 30%
20.0%
22.8%
20% 10% 0%
% with PC
% with Internet access
■
State
■
% with broadband
Galway West
19
Voting and Turnout - Election 2007 This section covers: Voting and turnout (Table 5)
Voting and turnout Turnout in the 2007 General Election was below the national average A total of 86,602 people were registered to vote at the last election in Galway West. The turnout was 55,629 people or 64.2% of those registered to vote – below the national turnout (see Table 5). There appears to be fewer people on the register than are eligible to vote. If we use census figures to estimate the number of people who were eligible to vote5 in 2007, we see that there were 6.6% fewer people on the register than the estimate of the population eligible to vote. This could mean that the register in Galway West excludes people who are eligible to vote. However, due to factors such as the number of students in the area (who could be registered elsewhere) this might not be the case. Most other constituencies have more people on the register than are estimated to be eligible to vote.
Table 5: Voting and turnout - General Election 2007 State
Galway West
Registered to vote 2007
3,110,914
86,602
Voter turnout 2007
2,085,245
55,629
67.0%
64.2%
2,984,822
92,739
4.2%
-6.6%
Turnout / register Estimated eligible to vote population 2007 Percentage difference between estimated eligible to vote and those registered to vote
Galway West returns five TDs to Dáil Éireann and in 2007 they were:
Éamon Ó Cuív (Fianna Fáil)
Noel Grealish (Progressive Democrats)
Michael D. Higgins (The Labour Party)
Padraic MacCormack (Fine Gael)
Frank Fahey (Fianna Fáil) Fidelma Healy Eames (Fine Gael), who ran for election in this constituency, became a Senator in the 23rd Seanad. After the publication of the census a Constituency Commission was set up to review the boundaries of the constituencies to be used in the next general election. No changes were recommended for Galway West.
5
20
The estimate is the number of 17 year olds and above from the 2006 Census who hold Irish or UK nationality. This was estimated by using the share of the population in the constituency who declared themselves as Irish or United Kingdom nationals. It does not account for migration or deaths between the time of the census and the 2007 General Election. The “registered to vote” and the “turnout” figures are from the election results available on the Oireachtas website.
GALWAY WEST
This profile is based on the Census
of Population 2006 which took
disability is lower in Galway West
place in the Republic of Ireland on
than nationally (see Figure 3).
26th April 2006.
later and with higher qualifications
In general Galway West’s profile is similar
Introduction
2
Glossary
3
who can speak Irish in Galway West
Demographics
4
is much higher than the national
Families
8
Education
10
Employment
12
Households and housing Voting and turnout
than people nationally (see Figure 8
to the rest of the country. However, there are a few notable differences:
The proportion of the population
average (see Table 1).
The average age of the population in Galway West is below the national average and the share of the
People in Galway West are much more likely to have left education
Key Highlights
CONTENTS
The share of the population with a
and Table 3).
There is a higher than average share of students in the Galway West population (see Figure 9).
The share of the Galway West workforce
in
professional
occupations is significantly above the national average (see Figure 10).
population aged between 20 and 30 16
years is well above the national average (see Figure 2).
20
No liability is accepted to any person arising out of any reliance on the contents of this paper. Nothing herein constitutes professional advice of any kind. This document contains a general summary of developments and is not complete or definitive. It has been prepared for distribution to Members to aid them in their Parliamentary duties. Authors are available to discuss the contents of these papers with Members and their staff.
Introduction This profile is based on Census 2006 Small Area Statistics data published online at www.cso.ie/census/SAPs.htm. The census took place in the Republic of Ireland on 26th April 2006. The Oireachtas Library & Research Service (L&RS) used this publicly available information to create profiles for the 43 constituencies used in the 2007 General Election. The profiles cover: demographic characteristics; the make-up of households and families; ethnic diversity; nationality and religion; education and employment profiles; and the state of the constituency’s housing stock. The L&RS has also added some electoral information for each constituency. The variables used were selected from those available from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) in order to provide a reasonably detailed overview of the constituency. In calculating percentages, constituents who did not provide a response were excluded (unless otherwise indicated). A copy of the census questionnaire is available on the CSO website. The terminology used throughout this profile is, in general, the same as that used by the CSO. The census data does not identify individual people; if certain variables could be used to identify people at the constituency level, this data is combined into larger groups by the CSO to prevent such identification. Percentages may not sum to 100 due to rounding. A glossary of terms used by the CSO is provided at the beginning of the profile to give further information on selected variables. This profile and profiles for the other 42 Dáil constituencies may be downloaded from the Oireachtas website (www.oireachtas.ie) – they are accessible from the Dáil Éireann navigation menu. Oireachtas Library & Research Service 2008
2
Glossary VARIABLE
DEFINITION
Private household
A private household comprises either one person living alone or a group of people (not necessarily related) living at the same address with common housekeeping arrangements - that is, sharing at least one meal a day or sharing a living room or sitting room.
Permanent private household
This is a private household occupying a permanent dwelling such as a house, flat, apartment or bedsitter.
Usually resident
This includes people enumerated (counted) in the area of their usual residence, together with other people usually resident in that area who were enumerated elsewhere in the State. Usual residents of an area who were not in the State on census night are not included in the figures.
Housing unit
A housing unit is a conventional house, a structurally separate flat or apartment, or a mobile or temporary dwelling, regardless of the number of private households it contains.
Family unit
A family unit is defined as: (1) a husband and wife or a cohabiting couple; or (2) a husband and wife or a cohabiting couple together with one or more usually resident never-married children (of any age); or (3) one parent together with one or more usually resident never-married children (of any age). Family members have to be usual residents of the relevant household.
Industry
The 2006 Census uses the General Industrial Classification of Economic Activities within the European Communities (NACE) to code industries. Whatever their occupation, the industry in which a person is engaged is determined by the main economic activity carried out in the local unit in which he or she works. The term “industry” used for Census of Population purposes is not confined to manufacturing industry. Instead, it refers to the “sector of economic activity”. In the case of employees, industrial classification is based on the business or profession of their employer and in the case of self-employed people, on the nature of their own business or profession.
Occupation
The occupation classification used in the census is based on the UK Standard Occupational Classification, with modifications to reflect Irish labour market conditions. The code to which a person’s occupation is classified is determined by the kind of work he or she performs in earning a living, irrespective of where or why it is performed. The nature of the industry, business or service in which the person is working has no bearing upon the classification of the occupation. For example, the occupation “clerk” covers clerks employed in manufacturing industries, commerce, banking, insurance, public administration, professions and other services, etc.
Source: Appendices of various Census 2006 publications The data on industries and occupations is aggregated into a small number of broad level groups. Detailed lists of the industries and occupations that make up these groups are on the Constituency Profiles page of the Oireachtas website. 3
Demographics This section covers: Demographic breakdown (Table 1) Marital status (Figure 1) Age profile (Figure 2) Disability (Figure 3) Nationality (Table 2) Ethnicity (Table 2) Religion (Figure 4) Demographic breakdown Higher population growth than the national average Lower proportion of males than the national average Significantly more Irish speakers than the national average In 2006 3.1% of the Irish population lived in Galway West. The constituency had a higher population growth between 2002 and 2006 than the country as a whole (see Table 1). There are fewer males than females in Galway West, with 97.7 males for every 100 females – this compares to an almost-equal distribution nationally. Galway West is the Dáil constituency with the highest share of Irish language speakers.
Table 1: Demographic breakdown State
Galway West
Population 2006
4,239,848
131,041
Population 2002
3,917,203
118,370
Share of total population
100%
3.1%
Population growth 2002-2006
8.2%
10.7%
Ratio of males to 100 females
100.1
97.7
Share with Irish language (Population aged 3 or above)
40.8%
51.9%
Marital Status Below average marriage rate People in Galway West are less likely to be married than the national population (42.3% vs. 48.8%) and are also less likely to be separated/divorced or widowed (see Figure 1).
4
Figure 1: Marital status of those aged 18 and over State
Galway West
5.9%
4.5%
5.2%
4.8%
48.4%
40.0% 42.3%
48.8%
■
■
Single
■
Married
■
Separated/Divorced
Widowed
Age Profile Larger proportion of 20 to 29 year olds than the national average Fewer people aged 65 years and older than the national average The average age of the Galway West population is 34.5 years. This is below the national average of 35.6 years. Figure 2 shows that compared to the national figures there are proportionally more people in Galway West aged between 20 and 29 years (22.1% vs. 16.9%). There are fewer people aged less than 15 years (18.4% vs. 20.4%). This profile is probably due to the location of third level education institutions in the constituency. Figure 9 (see employment section) shows that there is a higher than average share of students in Galway West. In addition, there are proportionally fewer people aged over 65 years in Galway West than in the State as a whole (9.4% vs. 11.0%).
Figure 2: Age profile of population Galway West
State
Age 85+
1.0%
1.1%
80-84
1.2%
1.5%
75-79
1.8%
2.2%
2.4%
2.8%
70-74
3.0%
3.4%
65-69
3.9%
4.3%
60-64
4.9%
5.3%
55-59
5.6%
5.8%
50-54
6.2%
6.5% 7.1%
45-49
8.2% 8.8%
8.6%
30-34
10.6%
25-29
11.5%
8.1% 5.8%
7.1% 8%
10-14
6.0%
6.8%
05-09 0-04
6.6% 6%
4%
2%
■
State
0%
■
2%
4%
6%
20-24 15-19
7.4%
6.8% 6.5%
10%
35-39
7.1%
7.6%
12%
40-44
6.5%
8%
10%
12%
Galway West
5
Disability Disability rates below the national average In the 2006 Census 10,513 people in Galway West indicated that they had a disability – or 8.0% of the population (see Figure 3). This is less than the national average of 9.3%. Approximately 27.7% of those aged 65 years and older in Galway West have a disability – below the national average. All age groups in Galway West have below average disability rates.
Figure 3: Share of people with a disability by age group
■
State
■
Galway West
35%
29.5%
30%
27.7%
25% 20% 15%
12.4%
11.2%
9.3%
10% 5%
3.8%
3.3%
4.6%
3.9%
5.8%
8.0%
5.4%
0%
0-14 yrs
15-24 yrs
25-44 yrs
45-64 yrs
65 yrs & over
All ages
Nationality and ethnicity Fewer Irish nationals than the national average Slightly more ethnic diversity than the national average There are 127,127 people who are usually resident in Galway West, with 86.5% identifying their nationality as Irish – slightly below the national average. Residents of Galway West are more likely to hold non-EU citizenship (see Table 2). There are proportionally more Polish nationals in Galway West than in the State as a whole. The share of UK nationals is the same as the national average. Compared to the national average, Galway West is slightly less racially and ethnically homogenous with 84.3% of individuals identifying themselves as White Irish compared to 87.4% nationally. There are proportionally more Black or Black Irish in Galway West than nationally (1.7% vs. 1.1%). In Galway West the share of White Irish Travellers is just over double the share in the country as a whole.
Table 2: Usually resident population by nationality and ethnicity
6
Nationality
State
Galway West
Ethnicity
State
Galway West
Irish
88.8%
86.5%
White Irish
87.4%
84.3%
United Kingdom
2.7%
2.7%
White Irish Traveller
0.5%
1.1%
Polish
1.5%
2.4%
Other White
6.9%
8.8%
Lithuanian
0.6%
0.5%
Black or Black Irish
1.1%
1.7%
Other EU
1.8%
2.6%
Asian or Asian Irish
1.3%
1.1%
Non-EU / Not stated
4.5%
5.3%
Other / Not stated
2.8%
3.1%
Religion Fewer Catholics than the national average Proportionally more people who have no religion than the national average A smaller proportion of Galway West people classify themselves as Catholics than in the State as a whole and people from Galway West are more likely to define themselves as having no religion. They are also less likely to report that they have another stated religion1 (see Figure 4).
Figure 4: Usually resident population by religion State
Galway West
4.4% 1.7%
6.1% 1.9%
7.1%
6.4%
86.8%
■
1
Catholic
■
Other stated religion
85.6%
■
No religion
■
Religion not stated
While the census overall gives a more detailed breakdown of different religions, the CSO does not publish a more detailed breakdown at constituency level - as this may identify certain individuals or families.
7
Families This section covers: Family cycle (Figure 5) Family size (Figure 6) Family type (Figure 7)
Family cycle Fewer families with adult children than the national average Slightly more families with pre-school age children than the national average There are 20,040 family units with children in Galway West. Figure 5 shows the proportion of these families by family cycle based on the age of the youngest child. In Galway West 16.6% of families have children at pre-school level – a little above than national average. The proportion of families with adult children is lower in Galway West than in the State overall (34.8% vs. 36.4%).
Figure 5: Proportion of families by family cycle
■
State
■
Galway West 36.4%
45%
34.8%
40% 35% 30% 25% 20%
15.9%
16.6%
15.6%
15.7%
17.5% 14.7%
17.9%
14.9%
15% 10% 5% 0%
Pre-school
Early school
Pre-adolescent
Adolescent
Adult
Family size Fewer households with younger children than the national average In Galway West there are 12,580 families with at least one child under 15 years of age.2 This means that 28.1% of households have families with children under 15 years compared to 31.4% of households nationally. In Galway West 29.6% of these families have one child, with 35% having two children. These figures are slightly below the national average. Approximately 3.5% of these families in Galway West have five or more children – close to the national average.
2
8
We present data (Figure 6) on families with younger children (i.e. those under 15 years old).The census also includes data on families with children aged 15 years and older but these figures include adult children.
Figure 6: Proportion of families with at least one child under 15 years, by number of children
5 or more children
3.4% 3.5% 8.6% 8.8%
4 children
22.2% 23.1%
3 children
36.0% 35.0%
2 children 29.9% 29.6%
1 child 0%
5%
10%
15%
■
State
20%
■
25%
30%
35%
40%
Galway West
Family type More single mother families than the national average Figure 7 shows that in Galway West there are slightly more families with at least one child under 15 years old headed by a single mother; 20.2% compared to 19.7% nationally. Approximately the same percentage of families are headed by single fathers in Galway West as in the State as a whole (1.5% vs. 1.6%).
Figure 7: Single parent families and other families with at least one child under 15 years old State
Galway West
1.6%
1.5% 19.7%
20.2%
78.7%
■
78.4%
Single father with children
■
Single mother with children
■
Couples with children
9
Education This section covers: Education by age ceased (Figure 8) Education qualifications (Table 3)
Education by age ceased More men and women finish education at age 21 or above than the national average
Women are less likely to have left education at age 15 or below than the national average Men in Galway West are more likely to have finished their education at a later age than men in the rest of the country. Approximately 40% of men completed their education at age 17 or below compared to 50% of men in the State as a whole. Nationally 23% of men finished their education aged 21 years or above compared to 32% of Galway West men. Galway West women are less likely to have finished their education aged 15 years or under (14% vs. 19%) than women in the rest of the State. In addition, they are more likely to have continued their education past the age of 20, with 35% of women completing education aged 21 years or above in Galway West compared to the national average of 24% (see Figure 8).
Figure 8: Males and females aged 15 and over by age education ceased Male
Female
100%
100% 23%
24% 32%
75%
35%
75%
5% 5%
5% 7%
6%
7%
6%
17%
19%
50%
7%
50%
16% 12%
18% 13%
9% 15% 12%
25% 9%
25%
13%
10% 9%
7%
7%
12%
12%
9%
State
Galway West
5% 14%
0%
0%
State
10
Galway West
Under 15yrs
15yrs
16yrs
17yrs
18yrs
19yrs
20yrs
21yrs & over
Qualifications achieved Proportionally more males with primary or post-graduate degrees than the national average Proportionally more females with third level qualifications than the national average Men in Galway West are less likely (by 6 percentage points) than men nationally to report that they have left education at lower secondary level or below (see Table 3). They are more likely to report that they have a primary or post-graduate degree. On average, the education level of Irish females is above that of Irish males. In Galway West this is also the case. The share of females with some form of third level qualification is 42%, compared to 34% of males in Galway West. They are also more likely to have third level qualifications than women nationally (42% vs. 31%). Women in Galway West are much less likely to have left education at lower secondary level or below than women nationally.
Table 3:
Highest education achieved by those aged 15 or over who have completed education MALE State
FEMALE
Galway West
State
Galway West
Primary or lower
19%
17%
17%
13%
Lower secondary education
21%
17%
19%
14%
Upper secondary and/or technical
29%
28%
28%
27%
9%
10%
12%
14%
11%
15%
12%
17%
Post-graduate or PhD
6%
9%
7%
11%
Not stated
5%
4%
5%
4%
100%
100%
100%
100%
Non-degree third level Primary degree or equivalent
The presence of third level institutions in the constituency could explain these results. It is likely that a large number of students of these institutions stay in the area after completing their education. Students who have not yet finished their education are not represented in the figures and thus are not directly responsible of the disproportional share of people with additional years’ education.
11
Employment This section covers: Economic status (Figure 9) Sector employed (Table 4) Occupation (Figure 10) Journey time to work/school (Figure 11) Method of transport to work/school (Figure 12) Volunteering (Figure 13)
Economic status Proportionally fewer men at work than the national average Substantially more students than the national average Figure 9 shows that Galway West women are more likely to be at work (by 1.1 percentage points) and less likely to be looking after home/family (by 3.9 percentage points) than Irish women generally. Men in Galway West are less likely to be at work than men nationally (by 3.7 percentage points). The shares of both sexes who are students are much higher than the national average.
Figure 9: Principal economic status of those aged 15 or over Male
100%
75%
Female
1.0%
1.2%
4.2%
3.9%
12.7%
10.9%
9.8%
14.1%
6.4%
100% 21.8%
75%
4.0%
17.9% 2.9% 9.0%
10.5%
7.7%
15.7% 10.9%
50%
66.0%
50%
4.3%
4.8%
25%
48.5%
49.6%
62.3%
25%
0%
0%
State
Galway West
At Work
Unemployed
State
Student
Retired/Other
Unable to work due to permanent sickness or disability Looking after home/family
12
Galway West
Sector employed Proportionally more are employed in health and education and manufacturing than the national average Proportionally fewer are employed in agriculture, commerce and trade, and construction than the national average The total number of people at work in Galway West at the time of the census was 59,755. Females made up 45.4% of the Galway West workforce – above the national average of 42.6%. In 2006 15.3% of workers in Galway West were self employed; 0.7 percentage points lower than the national average. The largest sector in terms of employment, with 14,505 people employed, was commerce and trade (see Table 4). This sector includes shops and wholesalers, financial institutions, real estate firms and other business activities. However, workers in Galway West are less likely (by 2.8 percentage points) to be employed in the commerce and trade sector than workers nationally. They are less also likely than average to work in the construction and agriculture, forestry and fishing sectors. People in Galway West are more likely to work in the manufacturing and health and education sectors than is the case nationally.
Table 4: Sector of employment of those at work GALWAY WEST Total Employed
STATE
Sector Share %
Sector Share %
Agriculture, forestry and fishing
1,615
2.7%
4.6%
Building and construction
6,213
10.4%
11.1%
Manufacturing industries
9,041
15.1%
13.6%
14,505
24.3%
27.1%
Transport and communications
2,427
4.1%
5.5%
Public administration
2,395
4.0%
5.2%
Health and education
11,798
19.7%
16.5%
Other
11,761
19.7%
16.3%
Overall
59,755
100.0%
100.0%
Commerce and trade
Occupation Proportionally fewer agricultural workers than the national average Proportionally more professional workers than the national average Proportionally fewer transport, clerical, and managerial and government workers than the national average Galway West has a lower than average share of its workers in agricultural occupations (2.6% vs. 4.5%). It has a much higher than average share of workers in professional occupations, by 4.8 percentage points (see Figure 10). Its shares of workers in transport, clerical, managerial and government occupations are below the national average. See Figure 10 overleaf
13
Figure 10: Occupations of those at work
Farming, fishing & foresty managers
3.7% 2.1% 0.8% 0.5%
Other agricultural workers
11.9% 11.6%
Manufacturing workers 8.8% 8.5%
Building & construction Workers
9.1%
Clerical & office workers
8.0% 9.3%
Managerial & government workers
7.8% 5.7%
Transport workers
4.4% 14.1% 13.8%
Sales workers
17.3%
Professional workers
22.1% 11.1% 12.3%
Services workers 8.3% 8.9%
Other workers
0%
5%
10%
■
State
■
15%
20%
25%
Galway West
Journey time to work/school Shorter commute than the national average People in Galway West spend less time travelling to work or school than the national average. The average travel time in Galway West is approximately 22.2 minutes as opposed to 26.5 minutes nationally. Figure 11 shows that more people in Galway West have short commutes (less than 15 minutes) than the national average. In addition, fewer people in Galway West have commutes lasting 45 minutes or over than the national average (8.0% vs. 15.2%).
Figure 11: People aged 5 and over by journey time to work, school or college 2.7% 1.2%
Under 15 minutes
6.4%
15-30 minutes
3.0% 6.1%
30-45 minutes
3.8% 16.6% 15.4%
45-60 minutes
30.5%
60-90 minutes
36.7% 37.7% 40.0%
Over 90 minutes 0%
5%
10%
15%
■
14
State
20%
■
25%
Galway West
30%
35%
40%
45%
50%
Method of transport to work/school Proportionally more commuters by car than the national average People in Galway West are more likely to travel to work or school by car, either as a passenger or as a driver, and less likely to travel by public transport than people nationally (see Figure 12). However, 78.6% of permanent private households own one or more cars in Galway West, while the figure for the whole country is 80.3%. People in Galway West are more likely than average to walk or cycle to work or school.
Figure 12: People aged 5 and over by means of travel to work, school or college 50%
40.7% 41.2% 40% 30% 20%
15.8%
18.6%
16.7% 18.7% 11.9%
10%
2.0%
10.3%
9.6%
3.1%
2.6%
8.6%
0.2%
0%
On foot
Bicycle
Bus, minibus or coach
■
Train, DART or LUAS
State
■
Car driver
Car passenger
Other
Galway West
Volunteering Higher rate of volunteerism than the national average Both men and women are more likely to volunteer to social or charitable organisations than the national average Both men and women are less likely to volunteer to religious organisations than the national average In Galway West 18,632 people aged 15 years or over volunteer for at least one activity. People in Galway West are slightly more likely to participate in a voluntary organisation than the national population. Nationally 16.4% of people volunteer in some way but this figure is 17.4% in Galway West. Figure 13 looks at the types of organisations to which individuals volunteer.3 Men in Galway West are more likely to volunteer to social or charitable organisations then men nationally. This is also true of women in Galway West. Both men and women in Galway West are less likely to volunteer to religious organisations.
Figure 13: Share of those aged 15 and over participating in voluntary activity by gender and nature of activity Male
Female
10%
10%
7.4% 7.4%
8% 6%
4.7%
8%
3.4%
3.7%
3.0% 1.6%
5.2%
5.1% 4.8%
4.6%
2%
4.6% 3.3% 3.2%
4%
2.0%
1.2% 1.5%
2%
0%
0% Social or charitable
Religious group or church
Sporting
Political or cultural
Any other voluntary activity
■
3
7.2%
6%
5.2%
4%
6.7%
State
Social or charitable
■
Religious group or church
Sporting
Political or cultural
Any other voluntary activity
Galway West
The percentage shares participating in various voluntary activities in Figure 13 do not add up to the overall share of the population aged 15 years or over participating in voluntary activity as some individuals participate in more than one type of activity.
15
Households and Housing This section covers: Household type and size (Figure 14) Occupancy type (Figure 15) Age of housing stock (Figure 16) Type of water supply (Figure 17) Type of sewerage facilities (Figure 18) Access to a computer and the Internet (Figure 19)
Household type and size Householders more likely to live in a flat or apartment than the national average Average household size close to the national average There are 44,714 private households in Galway West with 124,368 people living in them. Households in Galway West are less likely to live in a house or bungalow (84.2%) than people elsewhere in the State (89.2%) and more likely to live in a flat/apartment or bedsit (15.2% vs. 10.3%). Approximately 0.6% of households live in caravans. Overall the average household size is similar in Galway West and the State. Galway West has an average of 2.78 people per household compared to an average of 2.81 people nationally. However, Galway West has slightly fewer four and five-person households and slightly more two and three-person households (see Figure 14).
Figure 14: Proportion of households by size 28.3% 28.7%
30% 25%
22.4% 22.4% 18.1% 18.6%
20%
16.6% 16.1%
15%
9.3%
10%
9.0% 3.7%
5%
3.6% 1.0%
1.0%
0.5%
0.5%
0%
1 person
2 people
3 people
4 people
■
State
■
5 people
Galway West
6 people
7 people
8 or more people
Occupancy type Householders less likely to own homes than the national average Fewer householders own homes outright than the national average A total of 44,473 households in Galway West live in permanent private dwellings. People in Galway West are less likely to live in owner-occupied homes (65.4%) than people elsewhere in Ireland (74.7%). Households in Galway West are less likely to own their houses outright than the national average. A total of 30.5% of permanent private households own their homes outright in Galway West compared to 34.1% nationally (see Figure 15). Within Galway West more owner occupiers hold mortgages on their homes4 than own their homes outright. Proportionally more households in Galway West rent from the private sector than nationally. 4
16
Owner occupiers with mortgages include the ‘owner occupied with mortgage’ and ‘buying from local authority’ groups from Figure 15.
Figure 15: Share of people in permanent private households by type of occupancy 50%
40%
39.0% 33.9%
34.1%
30.5%
30%
17.6%
20%
9.9%
10%
7.2% 1.6%
5.6%
3.5%
1.0%
6.1% 1.5%
3.2%
1.5%
3.8%
0%
Owner occupied with mortgage
Owner occupied no mortgage
Buying from local authority
Rented from Rented from local voluntary authority body
■
State
■
Private rented
Occupied free of rent
Not stated
Galway West
Age of housing stock Proportionally more very new houses than the national average The age of occupied houses in is quite different in Galway West from the national profile (see Figure 16). Galway West has substantially less pre-1961 housing stock than the national average (16.2% vs. 29.0%). Between 1991 and 2006 46.1% of the housing stock of Galway West was completed compared to 35.7% of the national housing stock.
Figure 16: Share of permanent private households by year house built
25%
22.2% 20%
17.9% 15.2% 15.2%
14.6%
15%
11.1%
10.2%
10%
5%
14.3%
11.9% 7.7% 4.5%
9.6% 6.6%
8.1% 7.9%
11.1%
6.7%
5.1%
0%
Pre 1919
1919 to 1940
1941 to 1960
1961 to 1970
■
State
1971 to 1980
■
1981 to 1990
1991 to 1995
1996 to 2000
2001 or later
Galway West
17
Type of water supply Less likely to source water privately than the national average Figure 17 shows that Galway West households are more likely to be attached to a public water supply (88.1% vs. 83.5%) and less likely to obtain water through a private source (7.8% vs. 13.1%). Other census data (not shown) reveals that permanent private households in Galway West are less likely to have central heating than the rest of the State (86.3% vs. 90.4%).
Figure 17: Share of permanent private households by type of water supply State
9.9%
Galway West
3.5%
4.1% 4.1% 3.7%
3.2% 13.9% 8.7% 74.2%
74.8%
■
Public main
■
Group scheme with local authority source
■
■
Other private source
■
Group scheme with private source
None or not stated
Types of sewerage facilities Proportionally more individual septic tanks than the national average Figure 18 shows that Galway West households are less likely to manage their waste water through a public scheme (61.9% vs. 67.6%) and more likely to have an individual septic tank (35.2%) than households nationally (29.5%).
Figure 18: Share of private households by type of sewerage facilities
0.3%
No sewerage facility
0.2% 2.6%
Other
2.7% 29.5%
Individual septic tank
35.2% 67.6%
Public scheme
61.9% 0%
10%
20%
30%
■
18
State
40%
■
50%
Galway West
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Access to a computer and the Internet More likely to have PC, Internet access and broadband than the national average Households in Galway West are more likely to have a PC (57.6% vs. 56.6%) and access to the Internet (48.1% vs. 46.7%) than other households in the State. In addition, this Internet access is slightly more likely to be via broadband; 22.8% of households in Galway West had broadband Internet access compared with 20% for the State as a whole in 2006 (see Figure 19).
Figure 19: Computers and access to the Internet - share of households
60%
56.6%
57.6% 46.7%
50%
48.1%
40% 30%
20.0%
22.8%
20% 10% 0%
% with PC
% with Internet access
■
State
■
% with broadband
Galway West
19
Voting and Turnout - Election 2007 This section covers: Voting and turnout (Table 5)
Voting and turnout Turnout in the 2007 General Election was below the national average A total of 86,602 people were registered to vote at the last election in Galway West. The turnout was 55,629 people or 64.2% of those registered to vote – below the national turnout (see Table 5). There appears to be fewer people on the register than are eligible to vote. If we use census figures to estimate the number of people who were eligible to vote5 in 2007, we see that there were 6.6% fewer people on the register than the estimate of the population eligible to vote. This could mean that the register in Galway West excludes people who are eligible to vote. However, due to factors such as the number of students in the area (who could be registered elsewhere) this might not be the case. Most other constituencies have more people on the register than are estimated to be eligible to vote.
Table 5: Voting and turnout - General Election 2007 State
Galway West
Registered to vote 2007
3,110,914
86,602
Voter turnout 2007
2,085,245
55,629
67.0%
64.2%
2,984,822
92,739
4.2%
-6.6%
Turnout / register Estimated eligible to vote population 2007 Percentage difference between estimated eligible to vote and those registered to vote
Galway West returns five TDs to Dáil Éireann and in 2007 they were:
Éamon Ó Cuív (Fianna Fáil)
Noel Grealish (Progressive Democrats)
Michael D. Higgins (The Labour Party)
Padraic MacCormack (Fine Gael)
Frank Fahey (Fianna Fáil) Fidelma Healy Eames (Fine Gael), who ran for election in this constituency, became a Senator in the 23rd Seanad. After the publication of the census a Constituency Commission was set up to review the boundaries of the constituencies to be used in the next general election. No changes were recommended for Galway West.
5
20
The estimate is the number of 17 year olds and above from the 2006 Census who hold Irish or UK nationality. This was estimated by using the share of the population in the constituency who declared themselves as Irish or United Kingdom nationals. It does not account for migration or deaths between the time of the census and the 2007 General Election. The “registered to vote” and the “turnout” figures are from the election results available on the Oireachtas website.
