CONSTITUENCY PROFILE: DUBLIN SOUTH-WEST CONTENTS Introduction 2 Glossary 3 Demographics 4 Families 8 Education 10 Employment 12 Households and housing 16 Voting and turnout 20 This profile is based on the Census of Population 2006 which took place in the Republic of Ireland on 26th April 2006. Key Highlights The profile reveals that Dublin South-West has a number of notable differences when compared to the as a whole. These include: The average age of the population in Dublin South-West is below the national average and the share of the population aged 65 years and older is well below the national average (see Figure 2). People in Dublin South-West are slightly more likely to have left education earlier and with fewer qualifications than people nationally (see Figure 8 and Table 3). People in Dublin South-West are more likely to be at work than the national average. They are much less likely to have retired (see Figure 9). The share of the Dublin South-West workforce in professional occupations is well below average and Dublin South-West people are more likely to work in clerical and transport occupations (see Figure 10). Households in Dublin South-West are more likely to have access to a computer and broadband Internet access than households nationally (see Figure 19). 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. Usual residents of an area who were not in the 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 1 Lower population growth than the national average Lower proportion of males than the national average Substantially fewer Irish speakers than the national average In 2006, 2.3% of the Irish population lived in Dublin South-West. The constituency had a lower population growth between 2002 and 2006 than the country as a whole (see Table 1). There are fewer males than females in Dublin South-West, with 97.8 males for every 100 females this compares to an almost-equal distribution nationally. Substantially fewer people in Dublin South-West speak Irish than in the country as a whole. Table 1: Demographic breakdown Population 2006 Population 2002 Share of total population Population growth 2002-2006 Ratio of males to 100 females Share with Irish language (Population aged 3 or above) 4,239,848 3,917,203 10 8.2% 100.1 40.8% Dublin South-West 98,929 95,413 2.3% 3.7% 97.8 33.8% Marital Status Below average marriage rate People in Dublin South-West are less likely to be married than the national population (47.3% vs. 48.8%) and are more likely to be separated/divorced (see Figure 1). 1 Due to a geographical coding error the original published data on Dublin South-West were revised in September 2008. This profile uses the revised data. Its figures will not match figures in Census documents published before September 2008. 4
Figure 1: Marital status of those aged 18 and over Dublin South-West 5.2% 5.9% 6. 3.8% 48.8% 40. 47.3% 42.9% Single Married Separated/Divorced Widowed Age Profile Substantially fewer people aged 65 years and above than the national average More people in the 20 to 39 age range than the national average The average age of the Dublin South-West population is 32.8 years. This is well below the national average of 35.6 years. However, compared to the national figures there are more people in Dublin South-West aged 19 years or under (29.4% vs. 27.2%) and more people in the age groups 20 to 39 (35.9% vs. 32.7%). The share of the population aged 65 years and older is much lower in Dublin South-West (6.4% vs. 11.1%). Figure 2: Age profile of population Dublin South-West Age 1.1% 0.3% 85+ 1. 0.6% 80-84 2.2% 1.1% 75-79 2.8% 1.7% 70-74 3.4% 2.7% 65-69 4.3% 4.2% 60-64 5.3% 6.2% 55-59 5.8% 6.4% 50-54 6. 5.8% 45-49 7.1% 5.7% 40-44 7.6% 6.8% 35-39 8.2% 8.6% 30-34 8.8% 10.8% 25-29 8.1% 9.7% 20-24 6.8% 6. 7.7% 6.6% 15-19 10-14 6.8% 7.2% 05-09 7.1% 7.9% 0-04 12% 1 8% 6% 4% 2% 2% 4% 6% 8% 1 12% 5
Disability Overall disability rate below the national average In the 2006 Census 8,850 people in Dublin South-West indicated that they had a disability or 8.9% of the population (see Figure 3). This is below the national average of 9.3%. Approximately 28.7% of those aged 65 years and older in Dublin South-West have a disability, while 14.2% of 45 to 64 year-olds in Dublin South-West have a disability. This later figure is above the national average for this age group. Even though most age groups have an above average disability rate, the overall disability rate is below average due to the age profile of the constituency. Figure 3: Share of people with a disability by age group 3 3 29. 28.7% 2 2 1 1 3.8% 4.2% 4.6% 4.9% 5.8% 6.7% 12.4% 14.2% 9.3% 8.9% 0-14 yrs 15-24 yrs 25-44 yrs 45-64 yrs 65 yrs & over All ages Nationality and ethnicity Slightly more Irish nationals than the national average More ethnic diversity than the national average There are 98,329 people who are usually resident in Dublin South-West, with 89.2% identifying their nationality as Irish slightly above the national average. Residents of Dublin South-West are more likely to hold non-eu citizenship (see Table 2). There are proportionally fewer Polish and UK nationals in Dublin South-West than in the as a whole and slightly more Lithuanians. Compared to the national average, Dublin South-West is less racially and ethnically homogenous with 86.1% of individuals identifying themselves as White Irish compared to 87.4% nationally. There are proportionally more Black or Black Irish and Asian or Asian Irish in Dublin South-West than nationally (4.3% vs. 2.4%). Table 2: Usually resident population by nationality and ethnicity Nationality Dublin South-West Ethnicity Dublin South-West Irish 88.8% 89.2% White Irish 87.4% 86.1% United Kingdom 2.7% 1.3% White Irish Traveller 0. 0.8% Polish 1. 1.3% Other White 6.9% 5.3% Lithuanian 0.6% 0.7% Black or Black Irish 1.1% 2. Other EU 1.8% 1.3% Asian or Asian Irish 1.3% 1.8% Non-EU / Not stated 4. 6.1% Other / Not stated 2.8% 3. 6
Religion Proportion of Catholics the same as the national average Fewer people who have no religion than the national average The same proportion of Dublin South-West people classify themselves as Catholics as in the as a whole and people from Dublin South-West are less likely to define themselves as having no religion 2 (see Figure 4). Figure 4: Usually resident population by religion Dublin South-West 1.7% 7.1% 4.4% 2.1% 7. 3.7% 86.8% 86.8% Catholic Other stated religion No religion Religion not stated 2 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 More families with adult children than the national average Fewer families with pre-school age children than the national average There are 20,156 family units with children in Dublin South-West. Figure 5 shows the proportion of these families by family cycle based on the age of the youngest child. In Dublin South-West 14.9% of families have children at pre-school level below the national average. The proportion of families with adult children is much higher in Dublin South-West than in the overall (40.9% vs. 36.4%). On the other hand, there are proportionally fewer families with adolescents in Dublin South-West than in the overall. Figure 5: Proportion of families by family cycle 4 4 36.4% 40.9% 3 3 2 2 1 15.9% 14.9% 15.6% 15.3% 14.7% 13. 17. 15.9% 1 Pre-school Early school Pre-adolescent Adolescent Adult Family size More households with younger children than the national average In Dublin South-West there are 11,716 families with at least one child under 15 years of age. 3 This means that 36.7% of households have families with children under 15 years compared to 31.4% of households nationally. In Dublin South-West 32. of these families have one child above the national average. However, 4.2% of these families in Dublin South-West have five or more children compared to a national average of 3.4% of such families (see Figure 6). 3 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. 8
Figure 6: Proportion of families with at least one child under 15 years, by number of children 5 or more children 4 children 3.4% 4.2% 8.6% 7.9% 3 children 22.2% 20.3% 2 children 1 child 29.9% 32. 36. 35.6% 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 Family type Fewer single mother families than the national average Figure 7 shows that in Dublin South-West there are substantially more families with at least one child under 15 years old headed by a single mother; 31.7% compared to 19.7% nationally. Approximately the same percentage of families are headed by single fathers in Dublin South-West as in the as a whole (1.7% vs. 1.6%). Figure 7: Single parent families and other families with at least one child under 15 years old Dublin South-West 1.6% 19.7% 1.7% 31.7% 78.7% 66.7% 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 Men more likely to have finished their education earlier than the national average Women are more likely to have left education at age 15 or below than the national average Men in Dublin South-West are more likely to have finished their education at an earlier age than men in the rest of the country. Approximately 5 of men completed their education at age 17 or below compared to 5 of men in the as a whole. Nationally 23% of men finished their education aged 21 years or above compared to 18% of Dublin South- West men. Dublin South-West women are more likely to have finished their education aged 15 years or under (2 vs. 19%) than women in the rest of the. In addition, they are less likely to have continued their education past the age of 20, with only 16% of women completing education aged 21 years or above in Dublin South-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 10 10 23% 18% 24% 16% 7 5 2 17% 12% 1 9% 4% 17% 13% 18% 1 7 5 2 7% 19% 13% 13% 7% 4% 6% 18% 16% 1 9% 14% 14% 12% 16% Dublin South-West Dublin South-West Under 15yrs 15yrs 16yrs 17yrs 18yrs 19yrs 20yrs 21yrs & over 10
Qualifications achieved Proportionally more males left education with upper secondary level and/or technical qualifications than the national average Proportionally more females left education at lower secondary level or below than the national average Men in Dublin South-West are more likely (by four percentage points) than men nationally to report that they have left education with upper secondary level and/or technical qualifications (see Table 3). They are less likely to report that they have a primary or post-graduate degree. In Dublin South-West the share of females with some form of third level education is 2, compared to 31% of female nationally. Women in Dublin South-West are more likely to have left education at lower secondary level or below than women nationally (42% vs. 36%). Table 3: Highest education achieved by those aged 15 or over who have completed education MALE FEMALE Dublin South-West Dublin South-West Primary or lower 19% 18% 17% 2 Lower secondary education 21% 23% 19% 22% Upper secondary and/or technical 29% 33% 28% 29% Non-degree third level 9% 8% 12% 11% Primary degree or equivalent 11% 9% 12% 9% Post-graduate or PhD 6% 4% 7% Not stated 10 10 10 10 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 retirees than the national average Proportionally more people at work than the national average Figure 9 shows that Dublin South-West women are more likely to be at work (by 4.9 percentage points) and less likely to be looking after home/family (by 2.6 percentage points) than Irish women generally. Men in Dublin South-West are more likely than men nationally to be at work (by 3.1 percentage points) but also more likely to be unemployed. There are proportionally fewer people retired in Dublin South-West than nationally. Figure 9: Principal economic status of those aged 15 or over Male Female 10 1. 4.2% 12.7% 1. 3.9% 8.4% 10 21.8% 19.2% 7 9.8% 6.4% 9.7% 8. 7 4. 10. 4.7% 6.6% 10.3% 10.9% 5.8% 5 5 4.3% 66. 69.1% 2 2 48. 53.4% Dublin South-West Dublin South-West At Work Unemployed Student Retired/Other Unable to work due to permanent sickness or disability Looking after home/family 12
Sector employed Proportionally fewer employed in agriculture, forestry and fishing, construction, health and education and manufacturing than the national average Proportionally more employed in commerce and trade and transport and communications than the national average The total number of people at work in Dublin South-West at the time of the census was 47,293. Females made up 44.8% of the Dublin South-West workforce above the national average of 42.6%. In 2006, 10.1% of workers in Dublin South- West were self employed; 5.9 percentage points lower than the national average. The largest sector in terms of employment, with 15,615 people employed, was the commerce and trade sector (see Table 4). This sector includes shops and wholesalers, financial institutions, real estate firms and other business activities. However, workers in Dublin South-West are far more likely (by 5.9 percentage points) to be employed in the commerce and trade sector than workers nationally. They are also more likely to be employed in the transport and communication sector. People in Dublin South-West are proportionally less likely to work in the agriculture, forestry and fishing, construction, health and education and manufacturing sectors than is the case nationally. Table 4: Sector of employment of those at work DUBLIN SOUTH-WEST STATE Total Employed Sector Share % Sector Share % Agriculture, forestry and fishing 190 0.4% 4.6% Building and construction 4,862 10.3% 11.1% Manufacturing industries 5,375 11.4% 13.6% Commerce and trade 15,615 33. 27.1% Transport and communications 3,601 7.6% 5. Public administration 2,582 5. 5.2% Health and education 6,373 13. 16. Other 8,695 18.4% 16.3% Overall 47,293 100. 100. Occupation Proportionally fewer agricultural workers than the national average Proportionally more clerical and transport workers than the national average Proportionally fewer professional and construction workers than the national average As expected with an urban constituency, Dublin South-West has a much lower than average share of its workers in agricultural occupations (0.2% vs. 4.). It has a higher than average share of workers in clerical and transport occupations, by 3.3 and 3.2 percentage points respectively (see Figure 10). Its shares of workers in professional and construction occupations are below the national average. See Figure 10 overleaf 13
Figure 10: Occupations of those at work Farming, fishing & foresty managers Other agricultural workers Manufacturing workers Building & construction Workers Clerical & office workers Managerial & government workers Transport workers Sales workers Professional workers Services workers Other workers 0.1% 0.8% 0.1% 3.7% 5.7% 1 1 2 2 7.2% 8.8% 8.3% 9.1% 9.3% 10.2% 8.9% 11.1% 10.6% 10.4% 11.9% 12. 12.4% 13.1% 14.1% 14.4% 17.3% Journey time to work/school Longer commute than the national average People in Dublin South-West spend more time travelling to work or school than the national average. The average travel time in Dublin South-West is approximately 29.9 minutes as opposed to 26.5 minutes nationally. Figure 11 shows that fewer people in Dublin South-West have short commutes (less than 15 minutes) than the national average. In addition, more people in Dublin South-West have commutes lasting 30 minutes or more than the national average (40. vs. 31.8%). Figure 11: People aged 5 and over by journey time to work, school or college Over 90 minutes 60-90 minutes 45-60 minutes 30-45 minutes 15-30 minutes Under 15 minutes 2.7% 2.3% 6.4% 8.4% 6.1% 8.4% 16.6% 21.4% 28.8% 30. 30.8% 37.7% 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 14
Method of transport to work/school Proportionally more commuters by public transport than the national average People in Dublin South-West are proportionally slightly more likely to travel to work or school by car as a driver, and less likely to be a car passenger than people nationally (see Figure 12). Indeed 82.3% of permanent private households own one or more cars in Dublin South-West, while the figure for the whole country is 80.3%. People in Dublin South-West are more likely than average to walk, cycle or take a bus or train to work or school. Figure 12: People aged 5 and over by means of travel to work, school or college 5 4 40.7% 41.4% 3 2 1 15.8% 18.7% 2. 2.3% 11.9% 14.7% 2.6% 3. 16.7% 12. 10.3% 8. On foot Bicycle Bus, minibus or coach Train, DART Car driver or LUAS Car passenger Other Volunteering Lower rate of volunteerism than the national average Men and women are less likely to volunteer to all types of volunteer organisations than the national average In Dublin South-West 9,958 people aged 15 years or over volunteer for at least one activity. People in Dublin South-West are less likely to participate in a voluntary organisation than the national population. Nationally 16.4% of people volunteer in some way but this figure is 12.8% in Dublin South-West. Figure 13 looks at the types of organisations to which individuals volunteer. 4 People in Dublin South-West are less likely to volunteer to all types of volunteer organisations than the national average. The greatest differences can be seen for men volunteering to sporting organisations and for women volunteering to social or charitable organisations. Figure 13: Share of those aged 15 and over participating in voluntary activity by gender and nature of activity Male Female 1 1 8% 7.4% 8% 6.7% 6% 4% 2% 4.7% 3. 3.4% 3.3% 5.1% 1.6% 1.1% 3.7% 2.8% 6% 4% 2% 4.8% 5.1% 5. 3.3% 2.3% 1.2% 0.8% 4.6% 3. Social or charitable Religious group or church Sporting Political or cultural Any other voluntary activity Social or charitable Religious group or church Sporting Political or cultural Any other voluntary activity 4 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 house or bungalow than the national average Average household size well above the national average There are 31,947 private households in Dublin South-West with 98,559 people living in them. Households in Dublin South- West are more likely to live in a house or bungalow (91.1%) than people elsewhere in the (89.2%) and less likely to live in a flat/apartment or bedsit (8.7% vs. 10.3%). Approximately 0.2% of households live in caravans. Overall the average household size is much higher in Dublin South-West than in the. Dublin South-West has an average of 3.09 people per household compared to an average of 2.81 people nationally. Dublin South-West has fewer one and two-person households and more three, four and five-person households (see Figure 14). Figure 14: Proportion of households by size 3 28.3% 26.9% 2 2 1 22.4% 14.3% 18.1% 21.7% 16.6% 20. 1 9.3% 10.7% 3.7% 4.3% 1. 1.3% 0. 0.8% 1 person 2 people 3 people 4 people 5 people 6 people 7 people 8 or more people Occupancy type Householders slightly less likely to own homes than the national average Fewer householders own homes outright than the national average A total of 31,893 households in Dublin South-West live in permanent private dwellings. People in Dublin South-West are less likely to live in owner-occupied homes (73.) than people elsewhere in Ireland (74.7%). Households in Dublin South- West are less likely to own their houses outright than the national average. A total of 25.3% of permanent private households own their homes outright in Dublin South-West compared to 34.1% nationally. Within Dublin South-West more owner occupiers hold mortgages on their homes 5 than own their homes outright (see Figure 15). 5 Owner occupiers with mortgages include the owner occupied with mortgage and buying from local authority groups from Figure 15. 16
Figure 15: Share of people in permanent private households by type of occupancy 5 45.8% 4 39. 34.1% 3 25.3% 2 12.9% 1 1.6% 2.4% 7.2% 3. 2.8% 9.9% 6.8% 1. 0. 3.2% 3. Owner occupied with mortgage Owner occupied no mortgage Buying from local authority Rented from local authority Rented from voluntary body Private rented Occupied free of rent Not stated Age of housing stock Proportionally more houses built in the 1970s than the national average The age of occupied houses in Dublin South-West is quite different to the age of houses generally in the country (see Figure 16). Dublin South-West has substantially more housing built in the 1970s than the national average (40.7% vs. 15.2%) and has almost no housing built between prior to 1940 (1.1% vs. 18.8%). Figure 16: Share of permanent private households by year house built 4 4 40.7% 3 3 2 2 1 1 11.1% 0.6% Pre 1919 7.7% 0. 1919 to 1940 10.2% 4.2% 1941 to 1960 11.7% 8.1% 1961 to 1970 15.2% 1971 to 1980 11.9% 12.7% 6.7% 1981 to 1990 4.6% 1991 to 1995 11.1% 9.2% 1996 to 2000 17.9% 15.9% 2001 or later 17
Type of water supply Less likely to source water privately than the national average Figure 17 shows that Dublin South-West households are substantially more likely to be attached to a public water supply (95.3% vs. 83.) and much less likely to obtain water through a private source (0.8% vs. 13.1%). Other census data (not shown) reveals that permanent private households in Dublin South-West are more likely to have central heating than the rest of the (97.2% vs. 90.4%). Figure 17: Share of permanent private households by type of water supply Dublin South-West 8.7% 3.2% 9.9% 3. 3.3% 0.1% 0.7% 3.9% 74.8% 92. Public main Group scheme with local authority source Group scheme with private source Other private source None or not stated Types of sewerage facilities Proportionally fewer individual septic tanks than the national average Figure 18 shows that Dublin South-West households are much more likely to manage their waste water through a public scheme (97.7% vs. 67.6%) and less likely to have an individual septic tank (1.9%) than households nationally (29.). Figure 18: Share of private households by type of sewerage facilities No sewerage facility Other Individual septic tank 0.3% 0. 2.6% 0.3% 1.9% 29. Public scheme 67.6% 97.7% 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 18
Access to a computer and the Internet More likely to have PC, Internet access and broadband than the national average Households in Dublin South-West are more likely to have a PC (61.6% vs. 56.6%) and access to the Internet (52.6% vs. 46.7%) than other households in the. Moreover, Internet access is much more likely to be via broadband; 36.3% of households in Dublin South-West had broadband Internet access compared with 2 for the as a whole in 2006 (see Figure 19). Figure 19: Computers and access to the Internet - share of households 6 5 56.6% 61.6% 46.7% 52.6% 4 36.3% 3 2 20. 1 % with PC % with Internet access % with broadband 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 national average A total of 67,148 people were registered to vote at the last election in Dublin South-West. The turnout was 42,022 people or 62.6% 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 vote 6 in 2007, we see that there were 0.6% fewer people on the register than the estimate of the population eligible to vote. This could mean that the register in Dublin South-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 Dublin South-West Registered to vote 2007 3,110,914 67,148 Voter turnout 2007 2,085,245 42,022 Turnout / register 67. 62.6% Estimated eligible to vote population 2007 2,984,822 67,532 Percentage difference between estimated eligible to vote and those registered to vote 4.2% -0.6% Dublin South-West returns four TDs to Dáil Éireann and in 2007 they were: Conor Lenihan (Fianna Fáil) Brian Hayes (Fine Gael) Pat Rabbitte (The Labour Party) Charlie O Connor (Fianna Fáil) 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 Dublin South-West. 6 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. 20