Planning for Inclusion in County Donegal a Statistical Toolkit 2009
DONEGAL COUNTY DEVELOPMENT BOARDS Planning For Inclusion In County Donegal A Statistical Toolkit 2009
Donegal County Development Board Bord Forbartha Chontae Dhún na nGall Foreword Chairman of Donegal County Development Board
Following a comprehensive review of Donegal County Development Board’s ‘An Straitéis’ in 2009, it was agreed that the work of the Board would be concentrated on six key priority areas, one of which is on ‘Access to Services’. In this regard the goal of the Board is ‘to ensure best access to services for the community of Donegal’. As Chairperson of Donegal County Development Board, I am confident that the work contained in both of these documents will go a long way towards achieving an equitable distribution of services across the county in terms of informing the development of local and national plans as well as policy documents’ in both the Statistical and Mapping Documents.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all persons involved in the development of these toolkits including the agencies and officers who actively participated in Donegal County Development Board’s Social Inclusion Measures Group, Donegal County Council’s Social Inclusion Forum, Donegal County Councils Social Inclusion Unit and finally the Research and Policy Unit who undertook this work.
There is an enormous challenge ahead for all of us in 2010, in ensuring that services are delivered in a manner that will address the needs of everyone in our community, especially the key vulnerable groups outlined in this document. I would urge all of the agencies, with a social inclusion remit in the county, to take cognisance of these findings with the end goal of creating a more socially inclusive society in Donegal in the future.
Cllr. Dessie Larkin Chairperson of Donegal County Development Board
Chairman of Donegal’s County Development Boards Social Inclusion Measures Group
Planning for inclusion in County Donegal requires an in-depth understanding by all agencies and organisations of a number of key questions such as ‘Who are the groups that are most vulnerable to poverty and social exclusion in County Donegal?’; ‘How have their situations changed over time?’ and ‘Where are the pockets of deprivation or poverty located within the county?’. It was with this in mind that the Research and Policy Unit, Donegal County Council began the preparation of both of the ‘Planning for Inclusion Toolkits’ contained in this document.
From the onset there was a strong willingness on behalf of all of the stakeholders on Donegal County Development Board’s Social Inclusion Measures Group and Donegal County Council’s newly established Social Inclusion Forum to become involved in the process. Their participation was greatly facilitated by the work of the Social Inclusion Unit of Donegal County Council.
It is hoped that these toolkits will provide a valuable resource for all agencies with a social inclusion remit to plan their services in a manner that will reach the people who are most susceptible and vulnerable in our community, especially in such economically challenging times. Finally, I would like to thank all of those who have devoted so much of their time and energy to ensuring the preparation of such a robust and timely document.
Mícheál Ó hÉanaígh Stiúrthóir Pobail, Cultúir agus Fiontair
REPORT COMPILED BY: Loretta Mc Nicholas, Research And Policy Unit, Donegal County Council.
WITH GRATEFUL ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS TO THE WORK COMPLETED BY: Rosita Mahony on the mapping of poverty perspectives and Roisin Mc Bride on the Census 2006 Fact Sheets, both of which have greatly informed this Statistical Analysis.
DESIGNED BY: www.durganmedia.ie CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1 POVERTY AND DEPRIVATION IN COUNTY DONEGAL 1.0 INTRODUCTION 01 1.1 WHAT IS POVERTY? 01 1.2 DEPRIVATION IN THE BORDER REGION AND COUNTY DONEGAL 02 1.3 OUTLINE OF THE REPORT 05
CHAPTER 2 APPROACH AND METHODOLOGY 2.0 INTRODUCTION 06 2.1 SELECTING POVERTY INDICATORS 06 2.2 EXAMINING POVERTY AT DIFFERENT SPATIAL LEVELS 12 2.3 GROUPS MOST ‘AT RISK OF POVERTY’ IN IRELAND 12 2.4 POPULATING THE INDICATOR SET 12 2.5 USING THIS REPORT 13
CHAPTER 3 POVERTY, DEMOGRAPHICS AND KEY TARGET GROUPS 3.1 INTRODUCTION 14 3.2 DEMOGRAPHICS 14 3.2.1 POPULATION GROWTH 14 3.2.2 POPULATION DENSITY 15 3.2.3 POPULATION SETTLEMENT PATTERNS 16 3.2.4 POPULATION OF GAELTACHT AREAS 17 3.2.5 POPULATION OF THE ISLAND COMMUNITIES 17 3.3 GROUPS MOST AT RISK OF POVERTY IN COUNTY DONEGAL 18 3.3.1 WOMEN 18 3.3.2 AGE DEPENDENT 19 3.3.3 LONE PARENTS 19 3.3.4 PERSONS RENTING HOUSEHOLDS AT OR BELOW THE MARKET PRICE 21 3.3.5 RURAL DWELLERS 21 3.3.6 UNEMPLOYED PERSONS 21 3.3.7 PERSONS WITH LOWER LEVELS OF EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT 22 3.3.8 ETHNIC MINORITIES 22 CONTENTS
CHAPTER 4 DEPENDENCY AND POVERTY 4.1 INTRODUCTION 25 4.2 AGE DEPENDENCY 25 4.2.1 OLDER PERSONS 26 4.2.2 YOUNGER PERSONS 27 4.2.3 ASYLUM SEEKER CHILDREN 28 4.3 ECONOMIC DEPENDENCY 29 4.3.1 PERSONS IN THE LABOUR FORCE 29 4.3.2 PERSONS OUTSIDE THE LABOUR FORCE 31 4.3.3 UNEMPLOYMENT IN COUNTY DONEGAL 32 4.4 AVERAGE DISPOSABLE INCOME 35 4.5 WELFARE PAYMENTS 35 4.5.1 LIVE REGISTER PAYMENTS 35 4.5.2 PENSIONS 37 4.5.3 SICKNESS OR DISABILITY PAYMENTS 37 4.5.4 ONE PARENT PAYMENTS 38 4.5.5 CHILD RELATED PAYMENTS 38 4.5.6 OTHER PAYMENTS 38
CHAPTER 5 HOUSING AND POVERTY 5.0 INTRODUCTION 39 5.1 GENERAL HOUSING IN COUNTY DONEGAL 39 5.1.1 A HISTORY OF HOUSING 40 5.2 TRAVELLER ACCOMMODATION IN COUNTY DONEGAL 40 5.3 HOUSING NEEDS IN COUNTY DONEGAL 41 5.3.1 NETT HOUSING NEED 41 5.3.2 CATEGORY OF HOUSING NEED 41 5.3.3 INCOME LEVEL OF HOUSEHOLDS 42 5.3.4 HOUSING WAITING LISTS 43 5.3.5 HOMELESSNESS 44 5.3.6 ASYLUM SEEKERS, REFUGEES 44 5.4 FUEL POVERTY 44
CHAPTER 6 HEALTH AND POVERTY 6.1 INTRODUCTION 46 6.2 GENERAL HEALTH OF THE POPULATION 46 6.2.1 BIRTH RATES FOR COUNTY DONEGAL 2007 AND 2008 46 6.2.2 DEATH RATES FOR COUNTY DONEGAL 2007 AND 2008 46 6.2.3 CARERS AND PERSONS UNABLE TO WORK 48 6.3: HEALTH OF KEY TARGET GROUPS 49 6.3.1 PEOPLE WITH A DISABILITY 49 6.3.2 WOMENS HEALTH, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND POVERTY 51 6.4 MEDICAL CARDS IN COUNTY DONEGAL 54 6.5 COMMUNITY WELFARES SERVICES 56 CONTENTS
CHAPTER 7 EDUCATIONAL DISADVANTAGE AND POVERTY 7.1 INTRODUCTION 57 7.2 EARLY SCHOOL LEAVING IN COUNTY DONEGAL 58 7.3 LEVELS OF EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT IN COUNTY DONEGAL 58 7.3.1 EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT MALES 60 7.3.2 EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT FEMALES 60 7.4 EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT 61
CHAPTER 8 ACCESSING SERVICES AND POVERTY IN COUNTY DONEGAL 8.0 INTRODUCTION 62 8.1 THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT OF COUNTY DONEGAL 62 8.2 TRAVELLING AROUND COUNTY DONEGAL 65 8.2.1 TRAVEL TO WORK 65 8.2.2 HOUSEHOLDS WITH NO CAR 66 8.2.3 RURAL TRANSPORT PROGRAMMES 67 8.3 WATER , WASTE AND SANITARY SERVICES IN COUNTY DONEGAL 68 8.3.1 WATER 68 8.3.2 CONNECTION RATES TO SEWERAGE FACILITY SERVICES IN COUNTY DONEGAL, URBAN AND RURAL AREAS 69 8.3.3 WASTE AND RECYCLING IN COUNTY DONEGAL 70 8.4 OTHER ESSENTIAL SERVICES 72 8.4.1 CENTRAL HEATING SUPPLY IN COUNTY DONEGAL 72 8.4.2 ACCESS TO THE INTERNET AND OWNERSHIP OF A COMPUTER 72 8.5 ACCESS TO QUALITY OF LIFE INFRASTRUCTURE 72 8.5.1 CHILDHOOD CARE AND EDUCATION 72 8.5.2 PLAYGROUNDS AND MINI PITCHES 73 8.5.3 YOUTH SERVICES IN COUNTY DONEGAL 73 8.5.4 COMMUNITY INFRASTRUCTURE 74 8.5.5 CULTURE AND LEISURE 74
APPENDICES FOR: CHAPTER 1 78 CHAPTER 7 83 CHAPTER 8 87
POVERTY AND DEPRIVATION IN COUNTY DONEGAL 01
CHAPTER 1: POVERTY AND DEPRIVATION IN COUNTY DONEGAL
1.0 INTRODUCTION
To plan for an inclusive society, it is necessary to examine and fully understand the fundamental factors that prevent people from enjoying and participating in activities that are considered the norm by others - one such factor is inadequate income levels. The extent of poverty in County Donegal has been well documented by many sources, locally, regionally and nationally. According to the ‘Deprivation Index for Ireland’ produced by Trutz Haase, County Donegal has been identified over the last four consecutive Census periods as being the most deprived local authority area in the whole of the country. To determine what is driving this level of deprivation, the groups who are most affected by inadequate income levels and the factors which help or hinder the reduction of poverty levels within any county the Research and Policy Unit through the guidance of Donegal County Development Boards’ Social Inclusion Measures Group and Donegal County Council’s Social Inclusion Forum, have prepared these tool kits for 2009.
1.1 WHAT IS POVERTY?
The application of a broader definition of poverty was fundamental in the preparation of this profile, in that, people who are living in poverty not only lack money and different types of resources but many may also feel excluded, isolated, powerless and discriminated against from participating in activities.
Therefore the Government defines poverty as:
‘People are living in poverty if their income and resources (material, cultural measurements of poverty and social) are so inadequate as to preclude them from having a standard of living, which is regarded as acceptable by Irish society generally. As a result of inadequate income and resources people may be excluded and marginalised from participating in activities, which are considered the norm for other people in society.’ National Anti Poverty Strategy, 2007
This multi dimensional definition of poverty has greatly influenced the type of indicators that were collected to measure poverty in this report for example indicators were collected on key target groups like rural and urban dwellers, ethnic minorities, people with disabilities. In addition to collecting indicators on accessing essential services like clean water, sewerage, recycling facilities to indicators on quality of life services including access to community networks, cultural, sporting activities etc. 02 POVERTY AND DEPRIVATION IN COUNTY DONEGAL
AT RISK OF POVERTY AND CONSISTENT POVERTY
Poverty is also about how we distribute our resources and this is measured by examining the share of people who have an income that is 60% below the median (middle) national income for the country. In 2007 this income threshold was €11,890 per annum. In this situation a person is defined as being ‘at risk of poverty’. People who are at risk of poverty may also be unable to afford two or more of the following basic (deprivation) items including being able to afford:
» two pairs of strong shoes; » a warm waterproof overcoat; » to buy new not second hand clothes; » to eat a meal with meat, chicken or fish every second day; » to have a roast joint or its equivalent once a week; » to go without heating during the last year through lack of money; » to keep the home adequately warm; » to buy presents for family or friends at least once a year; » to replace any worn out furniture; have family or friends for a drink or meal once a month and have a morning afternoon or evening out in the last fortnight for entertainment.
In the above situations a person is said to be in ‘consistent poverty’.
According to the Survey on Income and Living Conditions in Ireland 2007, households most at ‘risk of consistent poverty’ are similar to those at risk of poverty in that they include females, persons aged 0-17 years of age or over 65 years of age, individuals in households rented at or below the market rate or rented free of charge, unemployed individuals and people with low levels of educational attainment. This report will pay particular attention to these most vulnerable groups.
1.2 DEPRIVATION IN THE BORDER REGION AND COUNTY DONEGAL
In 2006 the relative deprivation score for the Border Region was (-4.5) making it the most deprived region out of all the other 7 regions within the State. Map 1.1 below ranks relative deprivation within the 34 local authority areas in the State. This map illustrates that County Donegal with a relative deprivation score of (-10) had the lowest ranking out of all the other local authority areas falling into the Border Region making it the most deprived local authority area in the Border Region compared to Louth (-2.9), Leitrim (-0.9), Sligo (1.8), Cavan (-3.2) and Monaghan (-3.0).
Therefore in 2006, County Donegal is, according to this index, the most deprived local authority area in the State, followed in second place by Limerick City at (-9.3). County Donegal has maintained this ranking consistently (or its 34th position) since 1991. POVERTY AND DEPRIVATION IN COUNTY DONEGAL 03
Map 1.1: Ranking Relative Deprivations By Local Authority Area 04 POVERTY AND DEPRIVATION IN COUNTY DONEGAL
Map 1.2: Relative Deprivation Within County Donegal, 2006
Map 1.2 above presents deprivation scores for each Electoral Division (EDs) within the county. The danger of using a single deprivation score for a county (-10 in the Donegal case) can disguise pockets of even greater deprivation within the county and this is evident with a number of areas including Aran, Meenaclady, Graffy, Inishkeel and Tieveskeelta recording extremely disadvantaged scores of between (-30) to (-58.3). See Table 1.1 in Appendix 1 for a detailed breakdown of deprivation in the 149 Electoral Divisions within County Donegal. In addition this appendix also contains an Electoral Division Identification map to assist with locating each of the Electoral Divisions within the county.
COUNTY DONEGAL IS THE 34TH MOST DEPRIVED AREA IN ALL OF THE STATE. POVERTY AND DEPRIVATION IN COUNTY DONEGAL 05
1.3 OUTLINE OF THE REPORT
County Donegal has recorded the worst deprivation levels within the State since the 1991 Census was carried out and this highlights the need to explore key factors which may be driving deprivation levels within the county i.e. low levels of educational attainment, the decline of rural populations within an area and levels of unemployment etc. It is important to note that although these deprivation levels affect all of the persons who live and work in County Donegal, they have a greater impact on certain vulnerable groups. In short, the rationale for carrying out this project is to examine changes in factors that are driving deprivation within the county and the impact they are having on key target groups. This is achieved in Chapter 1 which presents an overview of poverty and deprivation within the County and the rationale for carrying out this piece of research; Chapter 2 details the approach and methodology used in developing the poverty profile, the types of indicators, key poverty themes and target groups identified; Chapter 3 focuses on the impact of poverty on the population of County Donegal and in particular key target groups; Chapter 4 explores how dependency rates and welfare entitlements can impact on poverty within County Donegal; Chapter 5 looks at the impact of housing on reducing poverty; Chapter 6 examines how the social conditions that people live in can impact on a persons chance of being healthy; Chapter 7 looks at the links between educational attainment and poverty and how people growing up in poverty and disadvantage are less likely to do well in school and chapter 8 illustrates how accessing services can be both a cause and consequence of poverty. 06 APPROACH AND METHODOLOGY
CHAPTER 2: Approach and Methodology
2.0 Introduction
Accepting that the definition of poverty is multi-dimensional in nature, also implies that it can only be measured by selecting a broader set of indicators. Indicators are simply statistics that can quantify or measure something, for example, they can be a number, a percentage or a ratio. Indicators can be used to monitor trends over time or to examine variations between different groups in the population. The indicators selected in this project cover all aspects of poverty and in addition assess the impact that poverty can have on a range of target groups.
This chapter outlines the set of indicators which have been captured in this profiling process to give insights into different aspects of poverty within County Donegal. The purpose of selecting these indicators is to determine or measure what progress had been made by key agencies with a social inclusion remit, in achieving a socially inclusive society since the previous poverty profile was carried out by the Social Inclusion Measures Group in 2003.
2.1 Selecting Poverty Indicators
The National Action Plan for Social Inclusion 2007 – 2016, uses a common set of indicators1 of social protection and social inclusion which covers various aspects (or poverty subjects) including Income, Employment, Housing, Education, Health and Deprivation. All of these broad aspects are clearly related or have an impact on poverty within the county but having access to essential services like water, environmental services, health and educational services or having access to quality of life services including childcare facilities, community networks, culture, enterprise or sporting infrastructure, are also important in reducing poverty and social exclusion within the county.
The criteria used to select indicators to cover all of the above major aspects of poverty was that they would be SMART2 Indicators. In addition they would measure the impact of poverty on the general population and on key target groups but that they would also have a spatial dimension or allow for comparisons where possible, across different regions, counties and at sub county level to allow us to determine if poverty is more of an issue or an area based phenomenon.
It was agreed, in consultation with the Social Inclusion Measures Group3 of Donegal County Development Board and Donegal County Council’s Social Inclusion Forum4 that a number of indicators which are generated locally or within each agency would also be captured i.e. the number of local authority grants, the number of asylum seekers, connection rates to water and sewerage. The purpose of this is to enrich the analysis to provide a deeper insight into poverty and its key drivers within the county.
As one of the motivating factors in undertaking this document was to update the Poverty Profile 2003 it was also necessary to update poverty indicators selected in that document. All indicators captured through this profiling process are organised into a range of broad subject areas or poverty aspects contained in the subsequent chapters and can then be further broken down (where possible into key target groups). See Table 2.1 on pages 7 to 11.
1 As adopted by the EU Member States in June 2006. 2 Simple, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time bound. 3 The Social Inclusion Measures (SIM) Group was established in 2000 as the first and only permanent interagency sub committee of the Donegal County Development Board. 4 Donegal County Council Social Inclusion Forum (SIF) was established in 2008 and made up of a representative from each Council Directorate and has the objectives of assisting and supporting the work of the Social Inclusion Unit in terms of promoting social inclusion activity and anti-poverty work within the organisation. APPROACH AND METHODOLOGY 07
3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 THE WITHIN COUNTY
3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 AT AT LEVEL COUNTY AREA EXAMINED
3 3 WITH OTHER OTHER COUNTIES
3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 AT AT LEVEL NATIONAL NATIONAL 2006 2006 2006 2006 2006 2006 2006 2008 2009 YEAR COVERED 2002, 2006 2005 -2007 1991, 1996, 1996 - 2006 2002 - 2006 2002 – 2006 INDICATOR SET INDICATOR Ranking of Relative Deprivation Scores Deprivation Ranking of Relative (% & No) growth Chg in Population density Chg in Population Patterns Settlement Chg in Population Rural Urban and Aggregate (in Aggregate the Islands) the Gaeltachta/ Areas/ Areas Urban/Rural in Aggregate No of Men/Women Persons and Younger No & % of Older Persons Households No & % of Lone Parent rate the market housing at or below renting No & % of persons dwellers No & % of urban and rural unemployed No & % of labour force attainment of educational levels No & % of the population with lower Families No & % of Traveller No of Asylum Seekers Workers No of Migrant Poverty Indicator Set Indicator Poverty ASPECT POVERTY POVERTY Deprivation and Poverty the Population the Population Key Target Group, Group, Target Key Table 2.1: Table 08
Table 2.1: Poverty Indicator Set continued... APPROACH ANDMETHODOLOGY
AREA EXAMINED
POVERTY INDICATOR SET YEAR ASPECT (INCLUDING TARGET GROUP SUBSET) COVERED AT WITH AT WITHIN NATIONAL OTHER COUNTY THE LEVEL COUNTIES LEVEL COUNTY
Chg in Age Dependency Rates 1996, 2002, 2006 3 3
No & % of Population by Age Category 2006 3 3
No & % of Older Persons Living Alone 2006 3 3 3
% of Youth Population 2006 3
No of Asylum Seeker Children by Gender & Age 2009 3
Chg in Economic Dependency Ratio 1996, 2002, 2006 3 3
Labour force Participation Rates by Gender 2002,2006 3 3 3
Dependency, No & % of Persons by Social Class in Labour Force 2006 3 3 3 Income Levels and Employment No of Persons Not Participating in Labour Force 2006 3 3
Unemployment Rates & Chg in County Donegal 2006 3 3 3
Chg in No of Persons on Live Register by Gender & Age 2008, 2009 3 3
Average Disposable Income Per Person 2006 3 3
No on Live Register by Gender, Type of Claim, Age an duration 2009 3
No & Type of: Pension Scheme; Sickness or Disability Payment; One 2008 3
Parent Payment; Child Related Payments and other types of DSFA
Payments APPROACH AND METHODOLOGY 09
3 3 3 3 3 THE WITHIN COUNTY 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 AT AT LEVEL COUNTY AREA EXAMINED 3 3 3 WITH OTHER OTHER COUNTIES 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 AT AT LEVEL NATIONAL NATIONAL 2006 2006 2008 2008 2008 2008 2008 2006 2006 2006 2007 YEAR 2008/09 COVERED 2006 2007 2006 2007 2003- 2008 1919 – 2006 1998 – 2008 2008 – 2009 2008 – 2009 INDICATOR SET INDICATOR (INCLUDING TARGET GROUP SUBSET) TARGET (INCLUDING No & % of Private HHLd No & % of Private HHld Private Per No of Persons Average Built Housing Units by Year No of Permanent of Accom by Type Families No of Travellers Nett Housing Need of Need Nett Housing Need by Category of Households in need housing Levels Income Housing Grants for Time Duration Waiting payments of homeless in receipt No of Persons type & Refugees by Accom No of Asylum Seekers by Gender per 1000 Pop Chg in Birth Rates by Gender 1000 Pop Per Chg in Death Rates by Cause of Death (No & % ) Deaths Registered Rates Mortality & Neonatal Chg in Infant per Week by Hours No of Unpaid Carers with a Disability People of Age Profile (usage rate) Service Violence Domestic Women’s Cards with GMS Medical No & % of Persons Payments Services No & Amt Community Welfare Poverty Indicator Set continued... Set continued... Indicator Poverty Poverty Poverty Poverty ASPECT POVERTY POVERTY Health and Housing and Table 2.1: Table 10
Table 2.1: Poverty Indicator Set continued... APPROACH ANDMETHODOLOGY
AREA EXAMINED
POVERTY INDICATOR SET YEAR ASPECT (INCLUDING TARGET GROUP SUBSET) COVERED AT WITH AT WITHIN NATIONAL OTHER COUNTY THE LEVEL COUNTIES LEVEL COUNTY
No & Distribution of Primary & Secondary Schools 2009 3 3
% of Persons who left School by Age & Gender 2006 3 3 3 Educational Disadvantage % & No of Persons who left School by Highest Level of Education 2006 3 3 3 and Poverty Attained
% of Unemployed by Highest Level of Education Attained 2006 3 3 3
No & % of persons at work aged 15 years and over classified by usual 2006 3 3
residence and means of travel to work
No and & of HHolds with no car 2006 3 3 3
Water Connection rates of HHolds No & % 2006 3 3 3 Accessing Water Compliance Rates 2006- 2007 3 3 Essential Services/ Sewerage Connection rates of HHolds No & % 2006 3 3 3 Quality of Life Services Cost (€) of Waste Collection 2009 3 APPROACH AND METHODOLOGY 11 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 THE WITHIN COUNTY 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 AT AT LEVEL COUNTY AREA EXAMINED WITH OTHER OTHER COUNTIES AT AT LEVEL NATIONAL NATIONAL 2009 2009 2006 2006 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 YEAR COVERED INDICATOR SET INDICATOR (INCLUDING TARGET GROUP SUBSET) TARGET (INCLUDING No & Distribution of Recycling Facilities of Recycling No & Distribution Collection (€) of Waste Cost Heating with Central No & % of Persons Internet to with Access No & % of People Providers Childcare of Community and Private No & Distribution and Mini pitches of Playgrounds No & Distribution Infrastructure Service of Youth No & Distribution of Community Infrastructure No & Distribution of Community Infrastructure No & Distribution Poverty Indicator Set continued... Set continued... Indicator Poverty ASPECT Services Essential Essential Services/ POVERTY POVERTY Accessing Accessing Quality of Life Quality of Life Table 2.1: Table 12 APPROACH AND METHODOLOGY
2.2 Examining Poverty at different Spatial Levels
Table 2.1 on pages 7 to 11 highlights that indicators can be collected at different spatial scales for example at national level, regional level, county level and sub county level, therefore it is proposed in this document that poverty can be both an area and an issue based concept i.e. that higher poverty rates can be expected in areas which have higher concentration of poverty indicators or higher concentrations of key target groups. This concept is explored further in ‘The Planning for Inclusion in County Donegal 2009 - A Mapping Toolkit’ which gives a more in-depth understanding of these poverty indicators at electoral areas level and of pockets of poverty concentrations and deprivation within the county.
2.3 Groups most ‘at risk of poverty’ in Ireland
The Survey on Income and Living Conditions, December 2007 highlights the demographic characteristics of the population who are most at risk of poverty. Those target groupings covered in this profile and these include females, older persons, younger persons, households headed by a lone parent with all children under 18 years of age, households that are rented at or below the market rate or rented free of charge, households living in remote or very disadvantaged areas, unemployed or person unable to work due to disability and persons with low levels of educational attainment.
Table 2.2: Groups Most At Risk Of Poverty In The State
Sub component(s) recording the At risk of poverty rate highest at risk of poverty rate
Gender Females 17.0%
0-17 19.9% Age Group 65+ 16.6%
Household Composition 1 adult with children under 18 years 37.6%
Tenure Status Rented at or below the market rate or rented free of charge 41.9%
Settlement Rural Areas 18.9%
Unemployed 38.7% Principle Economic Status Not able to work due to illness or disability 37.0%
Highest Level of Education Status Primary or Below 27.1%
Ethnic Minorities Asylum Seekers; Travellers; Migrant Workers -
Source: The Survey on Income and Living Conditions, December 2007
In addition, the Combat Poverty Agency have also added other factors which increase the chances of a person being at risk of poverty and these include being a member of a minority ethnic groups such as the Traveller Community, Roma and Immigrants including asylum seekers, undocumented migrants. A persons risk of poverty increases if they have a lack of access to services such as childcare, eldercare, housing and healthcare etc. Chapter 3, will provide an overview of key indicators in relation to each of the above target groups.
2.4 Populating the Indicator Set
One of the fundamental objectives of this piece of research was to collate, analyse and present up to date data on the current levels of poverty within the county and to examine how Donegal’s position has changed since the previous profile was published in 2003. Therefore, this report presents where possible a time series of data tracking changes in poverty indicators over time. APPROACH AND METHODOLOGY 13
A variety of methods and sources were used in populating the indicator set presented in Table 2.1 on pages 7 to 11 including a range of databases, through desktop research and reports carried out by national, regional and local organizations who sit on the Social Inclusion Measures Group and Social Inclusion Forum. In January 2008, the Research and Policy Unit under the auspices of Donegal County Development Board undertook an analysis of Census 2006 and this resulted in the publication of a series of 11 Fact Sheets. This work has greatly informed the development of these toolkits.
In some instances, it was difficult to gather information on some of the key target groups and therefore anecdotal information has been presented by key informants on the Social Inclusion Measure Group and the Social Inclusion Forum.
2.5 Using this Report
Although each of the indicators presented in this profile are poverty indicators in their own right and directly relate to a particular poverty aspect or subject, it is very important that this set of indicators are reviewed in their totality to develop a coherent and balanced picture of poverty within the county.
Chapters 3 to 8 will present key indicators or statistics by broad poverty aspects including Housing and Poverty, Welfare, Age and Economic Dependency and Poverty, Health and Poverty, Education and Poverty and Access to Services, Networks and Poverty.
The overall purpose of this document is to monitor key poverty indicators within the county and to highlight trends or patterns that have emerged since 2003. It is anticipated that this document will provide a useful resource for Donegal CDBs Social Inclusion Measures Groups and Donegal County Councils Social Inclusion Forum in informing decision making and in developing policies or interventions to address key areas of need or poverty within the county. 14 POVERTY, DEMOGRAPHICS AND KEY TARGET GROUPS
CHAPTER 3: POVERTY, DEMOGRAPHICS AND KEY TARGET GROUPS
3.1 INTRODUCTION
According to the Combat Poverty Agency Poverty, it is likely that the extent of poverty experienced can differ depending on where you live, whether you are male or female, because of your age, your family status, your level of health or education attainment etc. Therefore, it is not really poor choices that lead a person into poverty or deprivation but rather it is structural failings in economic, social and political conditions (for example a lack of quality job opportunities within an area, a lack of access to public transport, a lack of affordable childcare or health related services) that can increase the probability of certain groups being unable to escape from deprivation or poverty. This chapter looks at the demographics of County Donegal in an attempt to determine the groups who are most at risk of living in poverty and deprivation within the county.
3.2 DEMOGRAPHICS
3.2.1 POPULATION GROWTH
In 2006, the total population of County Donegal was 147,264 persons representing an increase of 7% or 9689 persons, over the period 2002 to 2006. This increase is the result of a natural increase1 in the population (3,113) and positive net migration2 (6,576). Donegal’s growth rate in population was lower than the State’s average (8.2%) and this can be accounted for by our lower average annual birth rate (13.5% versus 15%) and higher average annual death rates (8% versus 7%) .
Table 3.1: Population Growth In County Donegal And The State
Donegal 1981 1986 1991 1996 2002 2006
Number 125,112 129,664 128,117 129,994 137,575 147,264
% Growth 3.6% -1.2% 1.5% 5.8 7.0%
State
Number 3,443,405 3,540,643 3,525,719 3,626,087 3,917,203 4,239,848
% Growth 2.8% -0.4% 2.8% 8.0% 8.2% Source: Census, 2006
1 Excess of birth minus deaths. 2 When a larger number of people enter than leave the country. POVERTY, DEMOGRAPHICS AND KEY TARGET GROUPS 15
Map 3.1 Percentage Population Change By Electoral Division 1996 – 2006
Map 3.1 illustrates that the population of the north east of the county is growing a lot faster than the south west of the county and this is reflected by Census 2006 which reveals that the population of Donegal North-East Constituency has grown by 11.2% compared to Donegal South-West Constituency growth of 3%.
COUNTY DONEGAL EXPERIENCED SLOWER GROWTH IN POPULATION THAT IN THE STATE WITH DONEGAL NORTH-EAST GROWING FASTER THAN DONEGAL SOUTH-WEST.
3.2.2 POPULATION DENSITY
County Donegal is the 4th largest county in the State in terms of land mass. However County Donegal is also the 5th most rurally dispersed county in all of the State with 30.4 persons per sq km compared to a state average of 56 persons per sq km. See Table 3.2 on page 16. The population density in County Donegal in 2002 was 28.3 persons per sq. km, compared to the national average of 56. The 1996 population density figure for Donegal is 27 persons per sq. km and 52 persons per sq.km, respectively.
COUNTY DONEGAL IS THE FOURTH BIGGEST COUNTY AND THE 5TH MOST RURALLY DISPERSED COUNTY IN ALL OF THE STATE. 16 POVERTY, DEMOGRAPHICS AND KEY TARGET GROUPS
Table 3.2 Population Area And Density In The State, 2006
County Area (km2) Population 2006 Population (km2) 2006
Dublin 921 1187176 1289.0
Louth 820 111267 135.7
Kildare 1,693 186335 110.1
Meath 2,342 162831 69.5
Limerick 2,686 184055 68.5
Cork 7,457 481295 64.5
Wicklow 2,024 126194 62.3
Waterford 1,837 107961 58.8
Carlow 896 50349 56.2
Wexford 2,352 131749 56.0
Monaghan 1,294 55997 43.3
Westmeath 1,838 79346 43.2
Kilkenny 2,061 87558 42.5
Laois 1,719 67059 39.0
Galway 6,148 231670 37.7
Offaly 2,000 70868 35.4
Clare 3,147 110950 35.3
Tipperary 4,303 149244 34.7
Sligo 1,836 60894 33.2
Cavan 1,931 64003 33.1
Longford 1,091 34391 31.5
Donegal 4,841 147264 30.4
Kerry 4,746 139835 29.5
Roscommon 2,547 58768 23.1
Mayo 5,585 123839 22.2
Leitrim 1,588 28950 18.2 Source: Census, 2006
3.2.3 POPULATION SETTLEMENT PATTERNS
County Donegal still remains predominantly rural with 75% of its total population living in Aggregate Rural Areas3 compared to 39% in the State. The majority of larger urban centres are located to the east of the county and the smaller and medium centres to the west of the county.
3 An Aggregate Rural Area according to the Census is an area with a population of less than 1,500 people. POVERTY, DEMOGRAPHICS AND KEY TARGET GROUPS 17
Table 3.3: Population By Town (Urban) And Rural Area, 2006
Area Type Donegal State & Population, 2006 Persons % Persons %
Aggregate Town Area 36,585 24.8% 257,4313 60.7%
Aggregate Rural Area 110,679 75.2% 166,5535 39.3%
Total Population 147,264 100% 4,239,848 100% Source: Census, 2006
75% OF DONEGAL’S POPULATION RESIDES OUTSIDE OF THE LARGER URBAN AREAS IN THE COUNTY.
3.2.4 POPULATION OF GAELTACHT AREAS
County Donegal is also home to a significant Gaeltacht population comprising of 23,783 persons representing 16.1% of the total population of County Donegal. This is the second largest Gaeltacht in the country representing 25% of the total Gaeltacht land area or 1,770 sq km.
Table 3.4: Population Living Within A Gaeltacht Area, 2002 - 2006
Population Persons 2002 Person 2006 % Change 2002 - 2006
Total Gaeltacht Areas (State) 90048 95503 6.1%
Donegal 23728 23783 0.2% Source: Census, 2006
COUNTY DONEGAL’s GAELTACHT COMPRISES OF 23,783 PERSONS AND GREW BY 0.2% OVER THE PERIOD 2002-2006.
3.2.5 POPULATION OF THE ISLAND COMMUNITIES
Six of Donegal’s eleven islands have designated island status and these are Aranmore, Tory, Gola, Island Roy, Inishfree Upper and Inishboffin. In total, the population of County Donegal’s 11 islands equals 829 persons which grew by 7.0% over the period 2002-2006; this growth is by far higher than in the state. The main growth was recorded on the Islands of Inis Bó Finne, Oileán an Bhráighe, Inis Fraoigh and Toraigh/Tory. 18 POVERTY, DEMOGRAPHICS AND KEY TARGET GROUPS
Table 3.5: Population Of Inhabited Islands Off The Coast Of County Donegal, 2002 And 2006
Population Persons 2002 Persons 2006 % Change 2002 - 2006
Árainn Mhór 543 522 -3.9%
Toraigh 133 142 6.8%
An Chruit 61 53 -13.1%
Inis Bó Finne 16 36 125.0%
Uaigh 0 27 -
Inis Mhic an Doirn 0 13 -
Oileán an Bhráighe 7 13 85.7%
Inis Fraoigh 7 9 28.6%
Inis Caorach 0 7 -
Gabhla 5 4 -20.0%
Aughnish 3 3 0.0%
Donegal 775 829 7.0% Source: Census, 2006
3.3 GROUPS MOST AT RISK OF POVERTY IN COUNTY DONEGAL
Chapter 1 outlined that County Donegal has had consistently the highest levels of poverty and deprivation in the State since the 1991 Census was carried out. There are a number of key factors driving deprivation levels and these include levels of educational attainment, declines in rural population, levels of unemployment and a person’s social status etc. It is generally accepted that social exclusion and poverty are inherently linked and that there are a number of factors which make certain groups of people more ‘at risk of poverty’ than others4 and these generic groupings were presented in Table 2.2 of Chapter 2. This section examines these groupings within the County Donegal context.
3.3.1 WOMEN
County Donegal comprises of 73,294 females and 73,970 males. The Survey on Income and Living Conditions 2007 would indicate that approximately 17% (or 12,459) of females would be at risk of poverty within the county. This document will illustrate that women are predominantly home makers, carers and lone parents, that they live longer than men and they have lower labourforce participation rates. Therefore women are more likely to be at risk of poverty in County Donegal than males. Anecdotal evidence would also suggest that a women who has no independent income or is in a situation whereby abuse has a financial element, that they are more likely to remain in situations of domestic violence.
Table 3.6 Gender Breakdown Of The Population In Aggregate Urban And Rural Areas Of County Donegal, 2006
Population Women Men Total
Aggregate Urban 18,892 17,693 36,585
Aggregate Rural 54,402 56,277 110,679
Total 73,294 73,970 147,264 Source: Census, 2006
4 EPAN Vol 1 November 2007. POVERTY, DEMOGRAPHICS AND KEY TARGET GROUPS 19
3.3.2 AGE DEPENDENT
Younger Persons County Donegal has a population of 147,264 persons of which 40,288 are aged 17 years of age and younger. According to the Survey on Income and Living Conditions, 2007 approximately 8,017 (or 19.9%) will be at risk of poverty within the county. The main factor impacting on poverty levels among children and young persons is low levels of household incomes and Chapter 4 will illustrate that County Donegal has the lowest levels of household income in all of the State. Household income is affected by a number of factors including family size, a parent’s economic status, levels of educational attainment, health and the type of family situation, all of these aspects are explored in this document.
Older Persons 12.5% of the population (or 18,411 persons) in County Donegal are aged 65 years and over which is higher than the corresponding level for the State (11.4%). Therefore, according to the Survey on Income and Living Conditions, 2007 approximately 3,056 (or 16.6%) persons in this age bracket are at risk of poverty within the county, mainly due to the drop in a persons income after retirement, health related costs, household costs and fuel costs, all of these aspects are explored throughout this document.
Table 3.6 highlights that women are more likely to live longer than men and of all persons aged 70 years and over in the State, 58% were females and 42 % were males. In County Donegal, there were 7120 females (56%) aged over 70 years of age compared to 5689 males (44%).
Table 3.7 Gender Breakdown Of The Population In Aggregate Urban And Rural Areas Of County Donegal, 2006
State Donegal Population Category Persons Males Females Persons Males Females
65 - 70 143396 70895 72501 5602 2862 2740
70-75 119152 56540 62612 4502 2244 2258
75-80 92466 40121 52345 3554 1623 1931
80-85 64884 24694 40190 2626 1107 1519
85 years and over 48028 14845 33183 2127 715 1412 Source: Census, 2006
3.3.3 LONE PARENTS
Approximately 12.4% of private households in County Donegal (or 6,233 households) are headed by a lone parent and this is higher than the State (11.6%).
County Donegal has a higher percentage of households headed by a lone mother (10.6%) than a lone father (1.7%). There are many factors affecting why some lone parents are at risk of poverty such as:
» dependency on social welfare entitlements, » difficulties accessing affordable childcare, » some have lower levels of education and employment opportunities available to them, » some are in danger of falling into unemployment traps whereby their combined welfare entitlements exceed the income of a low paid job.
According to the Survey on Income and Living Conditions, 2007 approximately 37.6% of these households (or 2343) are at risk of poverty within the county. Map 3.2 on page 20 provides a geographical distribution of lone parent households around County Donegal. 20 POVERTY, DEMOGRAPHICS AND KEY TARGET GROUPS
Table 3.8 Lone Parent Households Within County Donegal And The State, 2006
State Donegal Population Number % Number %
Lone Mother with Children of any age 130853 8.9% 4949 9.8%
Lone Father with Children of any age 21689 1.5% 809 1.6%
Lone Mother with children of any age & other Persons 13994 1.0% 409 0.8%
Lone Father with children of any age & other Persons 3244 0.2% 66 0.1% Source: Census, 2006
Map 3.2 Percentage Of Lone Parents All Children Under 15 Years Of Age POVERTY, DEMOGRAPHICS AND KEY TARGET GROUPS 21
3.3.4 PERSONS RENTING HOUSEHOLDS AT OR BELOW THE MARKET PRICE
In County Donegal approximately 17% (or 8466) of households are rented with rents for a local authority housing averaging at €41.34 per week, for a voluntary body at €102.31, privately rented unfurnished housing at €91.6, privately rented furnished or part furnished ranged at €114.28. County Donegal has one of the lowest rates for renting houses out of all the local authority areas in the State with approximately 8,466 houses being rented in County Donegal at or below the market rate and 1005 being occupied free of rent. Therefore according to the Survey on Income and Living Conditions, 2007 approximately 41.9% of these households5 or 3547 households are at risk of poverty within the County.
Table 3.9 Private Dwellings (Number And Percentage) In Permanent Housing Units In County Donegal And The State, Classified By Nature Of Occupancy, 2006
State Donegal Population Number % Number %
Lone Mother with Children of any age 130853 8.9% 4949 9.8%
Lone Father with Children of any age 21689 1.5% 809 1.6%
Lone Mother with children of any age & other Persons 13994 1.0% 409 0.8%
Lone Father with children of any age & other Persons 3244 0.2% 66 0.1% Source: Census, 2006
3.3.5 RURAL DWELLERS
In County Donegal 110,679 persons (or 75 %) reside in Aggregate Rural Areas compared to 39% in the State. Applying the at risk of poverty rate of 18.9% would indicate that 20,918 rural dwellers are at risk of poverty in the county. The majority of larger urban centres are located to the east of the county and the smaller and medium centres to the west of the county. There are a number of factors which increase the poverty risk of rural dwellers and given that County Donegal is the 4th largest county in all of Ireland, with 18.1% of the population not having access to a car, with limited public transport options, makes access to services all the more difficult.
3.3.6 UNEMPLOYED PERSONS
A common proxy for unemployment is the number of persons signing on the Live Register6 which had reached 21,065 persons by August 2009. This represented an increase of 63% (or 8,110 persons) since August 2008. Census 2006, reveals that County Donegal had the highest level of unemployment out of all Counties within the State with approximately 12.9% of the labourforce or 8,422 persons unemployed. Applying the ’at risk of poverty rate’ of 38.7% would indicate that there are approximately 3,259 unemployed persons at risk of poverty within the county.
In County Donegal, approximately 6593 persons are not in the labourforce and unable to work due to illness or disability. According to the Survey on Income and Living Conditions, 2007 this translates to 2439 persons (37%) who are at ‘risk of poverty’ and this may be due to lower incomes and higher costs of health care.
5 Households rented from a local authority from a voluntary body, unfurnished, furnished or free of rent. 6 It is important to note that the Live Register is not designed to measure unemployment as it includes part-time workers (those who work up to 3 days per week), seasonal and casual workers entitled to Jobseekers Benefit or Allowance. The figures quoted in this document relate to the numbers signing on in each local office of registration which are drawn from a wider range of Electoral Divisions. It is accepted that Census 2006 provides a better measure of unemployment as it provides a location for each unemployed persons within the county, and therefore allows us to determine the levels or concentrations of unemployment for different areas within the county. 22 POVERTY, DEMOGRAPHICS AND KEY TARGET GROUPS
3.3.7 PERSONS WITH LOWER LEVELS OF EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT
In 2006, County Donegal has the highest number and percentage of persons who leave school with no primary (including formal) education in the entire State (28.9% or 28,475 persons). This reduces the types and quality of job opportunities available to them and in turn effects their levels of disposable income, which will be dealt with in greater detail in Chapter 7. According to the Survey on Income and Living Conditions, 2007 approximately 27.1% (or 7716 persons) with low levels of educational attainment are ‘at risk of poverty’ within the county. Map 3.3 presents the distribution of the population who have left school early in County Donegal.
Map 3.3 Percentage Of The Population Whose Education Ceased Under The Age Of 15 Years
3.3.8 ETHNIC MINORITIES
Travellers An analysis of the annual count of the Travelling Community in County Donegal illustrates that there has been a significant increase in their population over the period 1998 to 2008, growing from 93 to 229 families (or by 146%). The most notable increases in the number of Traveller families in percentage terms was over the period 1998 –1999 (27%) and over the period 2000 – 2001 (18%).
The largest urban centre in the county, Letterkenny, is home to 57% (132 families) of all Traveller Families in County Donegal (See Map 3.4). 6.6% (15 families) live in Milford and 4.4% (10 families) live in Raphoe. POVERTY, DEMOGRAPHICS AND KEY TARGET GROUPS 23
Table 3.10: Change In Number Of Traveller Families In County Donegal (Number And Percentage)
Annual Change Traveller Families 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 - 1999 - 2000 - 2001 - 2002 - 2003 - 2004 - 2005 - 2006 - 2007 - 2008
Increase in Number of Families 35 6 24 17 -17 11 2 15 22 21
Increase in % of Families 27.3% 4.7% 17.9% 10.8% -9.7% 7.0% 1.2% 8.8% 11.8% 10.1% Source: Traveller Census, Housing Directorate, Donegal County Council, 2009
Map 3.4 Traveller Families In County Donegal, 2008
Asylum Seekers The total number of Asylum Seekers (including newborns) registered with the Health Service Executive at the end of April 2009 was 138. Recent years have seen an increase in the number of people seeking asylum in Ireland. The asylum seekers in County Donegal receive €19.10 per week, out of which they must budget for their communication needs including mobile phones, stationary and stamps to keep in touch with their home countries, to buy small personal items for themselves or to engage in social activities. 24 POVERTY, DEMOGRAPHICS AND KEY TARGET GROUPS
Table 3.11: Asylum Seekers In County Donegal, April 2009
Population Number
Dispersal Centres 63
Private Rented Accommodation 75
Total 138 Source: Asylum Seekers and Ethnic Minorities Services, Community Services HSE April 2009
Migrant Workers A recent interagency report on Ethnic Minorities in County Donegal examined PPS numbers issued between January 2005 and October 2007 to nationalities other than Irish or the UK. This report highlighted that there were a total of 7360 numbers issued in County Donegal to 88 different types of nationalities other than Irish or UK. These nationalities are detailed in Table 3.12 below.
Table 3.12: PPS Numbers Issued In County Donegal By Country Of Origin, Jan 2005 - October 2007
Population Number
Poland 3462
Lithuania 576
Slovakia 536
Latvia 295
India 279
USA 250
Germany 146
Hungary 140
France 126
Philippines 116
Romania 114
Czech Republic 107
Brazil 82
Sudan 81
Other 996
Total 7306 Source: Challenges and Opportunities – An Interagency Report on Ethnic Minorities in County Donegal January 2009. DEPENDENCY AND POVERTY 25
CHAPTER 4: DEPENDENCY AND POVERTY
4.1 INTRODUCTION
The ‘Unemployment Trap’ is a situation whereby the combined ‘out of work benefits’ can lead to insufficient attempts by an individual to try to find meaningful works and entice others to slip into unemployment. According to CORI1 in their ‘Policy briefing on poverty’ in 2009, a single person needs to receive a weekly disposable income (after taxes and including all benefits) of €229.47 to be outside the risk of living in poverty.
Table 4.1 Minimum Disposable Income Required To Avoid Poverty In 20092
Households Containing: Weekly Poverty Line Annual Poverty Line
1 adult €229.47 €11,965
1 adult + 1 child €305.20 €15,914
1 adult + 2 children €380.92 €19.862
1 adult + 3 children €456.65 €23,811
2 adults €380.92 €19,862
2 adults + 1 child €456.65 €23,811
2 adults + 2 children €532.37 €27,759
2 adults + 3 children €608.10 €31,708
3 adults €532.37 €27,759
Source: Policy Briefing on Poverty, CORI Justice 2009
4.2 AGE DEPENDENCY
County Donegal has a higher age dependent population3 than in the State (35.2% versus 31.4%). This is hardly surprising considering that we have a higher percentage of our population falling into the 0-14 age category at 22.7% than in the State (20.4%). In addition, County Donegal has a lower percentage of its population falling into the working age category (15-65 years of age) 64.8% in County Donegal compared to 68.65% in the State. The county had a higher percentage of older persons (65 years and over) than in the State, 12.5% versus 11.0%.
A comparison of previous census periods shows a deterioration in the age dependency rate in County Donegal from 36.01% in 2002 and 38.7% in 1996. See Table 4.2 on page 26.
1 Conference of Religious in Ireland. 2 For each additional adult in the household this minimum income figure is increased by €151.45 (66 per cent of the poverty line figure) and for each child in the household the minimum income figure is increased by €75.73 (33 per cent of the poverty line). 3 This is defined as the total population who are termed dependent that is those persons aged under 15 years of age and those aged 65 years and over, expressed as a percentage of the total population. 26 DEPENDENCY AND POVERTY
Table 4.2 Population By Age Category, 2006
Donegal State Age Group Persons (%) Persons (%)
0 - 15 33,426 22.70% 864,449 20.39%
15 - 24 20,575 13.97% 632,732 14.92%
25 - 44 41,457 28.15% 1,345,873 31.74%
45 - 64 33,395 22.68% 928,868 21.91%
65 plus 18,411 12.50% 467,926 11.04%
Total Population 147,264 100.00% 4,239,848 100.00% Source: Census 2006
COUNTY DONEGAL HAS A HIGHER AGE DEPENDENCY RATE THAN IN THE STATE (35.2% VERSUS 31.4%).
4.2.1 OLDER PERSONS
County Donegal’s population over 65 years of age is higher than in the State (12.5% versus 11.4%). In addition, the percentage change in the population aged between 45 -64 years of age increased by 22.7% in County Donegal compared to 21.9% in the State as a whole. This figure is important, as it is an early indication of the increasing demand for services for the older persons in the future.
OLDER PEOPLE LIVING ALONE
23.4% (11,816 households) of Donegal’s total private households comprise of single persons, of which 5,058 households (or 42.8%) are older persons living along. In addition, the State had 22.4% of its total households comprising of one person, of which 121,157 (or 36.8%) comprised of an older person living alone.
5058 HOUSEHOLDS IN COUNTY DONEGAL COMPRISE OF AN OLDER PERSON LIVING ALONE. DEPENDENCY AND POVERTY 27
In County Donegal, approximately 10% of all households comprise of elderly persons 65 years of age and over who were living alone. This figure for the county is disaggregated into the 149 Electoral Divisions within County Donegal in Map 4.1 below. It highlights larger concentrations of elderly persons 65 years and over living alone in the more rural parts of the county especially in the south west.
Map 4.1 Households Comprising Of Persons 65 Years & Over Living Alone In County Donegal 2006
4.2.2 YOUNGER PERSONS
As outlined in Table 4.2 on page 26 County Donegal has a younger average population than in the State and this figure can be disaggregated down by Electoral Division in County Donegal. Map 4.2 below highlights that there are higher concentration of this youth population residing in the more urban areas of the county, especially in the north east. 28 DEPENDENCY AND POVERTY
Map 4.2 Percentage Youth Population By Electoral Division In County Donegal 2006
According to the Donegal Children’s Services Committee Information Booklet in 2008 there are 11,168 children of pre- school age (or 0-4 years inclusive); 17,830 children of primary school age (or 5-12 years of age); 13,428 children of secondary school age (or 13-18 years) and 7,584 young adults (or 19-22 years of age). Therefore there are 50,010 persons aged 22 years of age and under in County Donegal or 34 % of Donegal’s total population compared to 32 % in the State.
4.2.3 ASYLUM SEEKER CHILDREN
As already indicated, Donegal has a significant population of asylum seekers of which 29% were 17 years of age and younger. The table below provides a summary of asylum seekers by age category in County Donegal.
Table 4.3 Asylum Seeker Children In County Donegal, April 2009
Age (2008) Male Female Total
0 – 17 yrs 15 16 31
18 years and over 87 20 107
Total 138
Source: Asylum Seekers and Ethnic Minorities Services, Community Services HSE April 2009 DEPENDENCY AND POVERTY 29
4.3 ECONOMIC DEPENDENCY
The Economic Dependency Ratio4 is a more realistic dependency indicator than the age dependency ratio and it highlights for every 1 person at work in County Donegal there are 1.6 persons dependent of them compared to the State average at 1.2 persons dependent on them.
Table 4.4 Economic Dependency Rates For County Donegal And The State, 1996, 2002, 2006
1996 2002 2006
County Donegal 2.27 1.84 1.60
Border 1.98 1.61 1.36
State 1.77 1.39 1.20 Source: GAMMA 2006
FOR EVERY 1 PERSON AT WORK IN COUNTY DONEGAL THERE ARE 1.6 PERSONS DEPENDENT ON THEM.
4.3.1 PERSONS IN THE LABOUR FORCE
The total labour force5 in County Donegal in 2006 was 65,092. The labourforce participation rate for the county was 57.2%, however this percentage is lower than the figure for the Border 60.3% and for the State of 62.5%. It is important to note that labourforce participation rates have improved since the 2002 rate of 54.4% was recorded for County Donegal.
LABOUR FORCE PARTICIPATION RATES ARE LOWER IN COUNTY DONEGAL THAN IN THE BORDER REGION OR THE STATE.
MALE/FEMALE PARTICIPATION RATES
In County Donegal the male labour force participation rate is 67.5%, which is lower than the rate for the State of 72.3%. Although female labour force participation rate have improved since 2002 from 42.4% in County Donegal and 47% in the State, the rate in County Donegal in 2006 is still considerably lower than in the State, 46.9% compared to 52.8%.
FEMALES HAVE LOWER LABOURFORCE PARTICIPATION RATES THAN MALES IN COUNTY DONEGAL (46.9 % VERSUS 67.5%).
4 The Economic Dependency Ratio is the ratio of the total inactive population i.e. children under 15years of age, unemployed, first time job seekers, home duties, retired, students, unable to work to those at work. 5 The total labour force is the sum of the persons at work, unemployed or first time job seekers. 30 DEPENDENCY AND POVERTY
Table 4.5 Labour Force Participation Rates By Gender In County Donegal, The Border And The State 2006
Geographical Area Male Female Total
County Donegal 67.5 46.9 57.2
Border 70.5 50.0 60.3
State 72.3 52.8 62.5 Source: Census 2006
Map 4.3 presents the ratio of male to female labour force participation rates in County Donegal or for every one male working the amount of females at work. This map illustrates higher ratios of females working in the west of the county and in the Milford area and lower ratios in the Inishowen Electoral Area and in the centre of the county.
Map: 4.3 Labour Force Participation Ratios Within The County, 2006
URBAN and RURAL PARTICIPATION RATES
When labour force participation rates are calculated on both an urban and rural basis, persons living in the larger urban settlements in County Donegal are more likely to be at work or actively seeking work. The labour force participation rates in aggregate urban areas was 59.6% and in aggregate rural areas was 56.4% which is lower than the county average of 57.2%. DEPENDENCY AND POVERTY 31
PEOPLE RESIDING IN RURAL AREAS HAVE LOWER LABOUR FORCE PARTICIPATION RATES THAN THOSE WHO LIVE iN URBAN AREAS.
SOCIAL CLASS OF PERSONS IN THE LABOUR FORCE
There are more professional workers and managerial & technical persons in the labour force in the State than in County Donegal. Table 4.6 below examines the social class that persons in the labour force self-select into. 22.9% of the total labour force in County Donegal falls into the semi-skilled and unskilled social class compared to 18.4% in the State. This relationship also exists between Donegal and the State (but in reverse) when we examine the percentage of the labour force falling into the Professional Workers and Managerial & Technical social class categories (27.3% in County Donegal versus 33.2% in the State).
Table 4.6 Persons In The Labour Force In County Donegal By Social Class
Social Class Persons aged 15 All others years and Geographic Area Managerial gainfully over in Professional Skilled and Non-manual Semi-skilled Unskilled occupied the labour workers manual technical and force unknown
Donegal (number) 65092 2751 15057 12886 14794 10998 3885 4721
Donegal (%) 100.0% 4.2% 23.1% 19.8% 22.7% 16.9% 6.0% 7.3%
State (number) 2109498 145181 555040 424482 409345 289031 100037 186382
State (%) 100.0% 6.9% 26.3% 20.1% 19.4% 13.7% 4.7% 8.8% Source: Census 2006
4.3.2 PERSONS OUTSIDE THE LABOUR FORCE
County Donegal has a higher percentage of persons not in the labour force than in the State (42.8% compared to 37.5%). Persons not in the labour force include the following catagories Students; those Persons Looking After Home or Family; the Retired; those Persons Unable To Work Due To Permanent Sickness, Disability and Other.
COUNTY DONEGAL HAS A HIGHER PERCENTAGE OF PERSONS NOT IN THE LABOUR FORCE THAN IN THE STATE (42.8% COMPARED TO 37.5%).
According to the National Womans Council of Ireland, women still provide the majority of unpaid care work in Ireland. In 2006, approximately 96% of persons who highlighted that their principle activity was looking after the home/family in the State are females and 4% are males. These trends are also echoed in County Donegal where 95% of the total number of persons whose principle activity was looking after the home or family were female and 5 % were male. Of the total females 15 years and over in County Donegal (57,050) approximately 25.6% of females (14,594) stated that their principle economic status was looking after the home or family. This figure is considerably higher than the corresponding figure for males at 1.4% (808) 32 DEPENDENCY AND POVERTY
95% OF PERSONS WHOSE PRINCIPLE ACTIVITY WAS LOOKING AFTER THE HOME/FAMILY IN COUNTY DONEGAL ARE FEMALE.
Table 4.7: Persons Not Participating In The Labour Force By Gender And Principle Economic Status
Unable to work Looking due to permanent Gender Students Retired Other After Family sickness or disability
Males 5089 808 8820 3587 128
Females 6033 14594 6464 3006 217
Total 11122 15402 15284 6593 345 Source: Census 2006
IN 2006 APPROXIMATELY 14,594 FEMALES IN COUNTY DONEGAL DID NOT TO PARTICIPATE IN THE LABOUR FORCE SO THAT THEY COULD LOOK AFTER THEIR HOME OR FAMILY.
4.3.3 UNEMPLOYMENT IN COUNTY DONEGAL
Table 4.8 on page 33 highlights that in 2006; County Donegal maintained its ranking as having the highest unemployment rate out of all of the counties in the State (at 12.9%)6. Unemployment has not hit most of the other Border counties to the same degree. Cavan ranked 15th (at 8.2%), Leitrim ranked 17th (at 8.1%), Monaghan ranked 18th (at 7.7%) and Sligo ranked 21st (at 7.5%). In addition, County Donegal had the 2nd highest unemployment rate out of all Local Authority Areas and is only surpassed by Limerick City.
COUNTY DONEGAL HAD THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF UNEMPLOYMENT IN THE STATE AT (12.9%) IN 2006.
In 2006, the female unemployment rate was equal to 10.8 % while the male unemployment rate was above average at 14.4%.
6 This is a continuation of its position in 2002 where the unemployment rate was 15.6%. DEPENDENCY AND POVERTY 33
Table 4.8 Unemployment Rate By County, 2002 - 2006
Unemployment Rate % Change Ranking County 2002 2006 2002 - 2006
1 Donegal 15.6% 12.9% -2.7%
2 Longford 10.1% 11.4% 1.3%
3 Louth 13.2% 11.1% -2.1%
4 Waterford City and County 10.2% 10.0% -0.2%
5 Wexford 10.5% 9.3% -1.1%
6 Carlow 9.5% 9.3% -0.2%
7 Mayo 10.7% 9.1% -1.6%
8 Limerick City and County 8.9% 9.1% 0.2%
9 Dublin City and County 8.5% 8.9% 0.4%
10 Kerry 9.0% 8.7% -0.3%
11 Galway City and County 9.2% 8.7% -0.5%
12 Tipperary South 9.5% 8.5% -0.9%
13 Offaly 8.8% 8.5% -0.3%
14 Westmeath 8.5% 8.2% -0.3%
15 Cavan 7.9% 8.2% 0.2%
16 Wicklow 8.1% 8.1% 0.0%
17 Tipperary 8.6% 8.1% -0.6%
18 Leitrim 8.7% 8.1% -0.6%
19 Monaghan 9.9% 7.7% -2.2%
20 Clare 7.6% 7.6% 0.0%
21 Kilkenny 7.6% 7.5% -0.1%
22 Sligo 8.7% 7.5% -1.2%
23 Tipperary North 7.6% 7.5% -0.1%
24 Laois 9.8% 7.4% -2.4%
25 Cork City and County 8.0% 7.3% -0.8%
26 Meath 6.6% 6.5% 0.0%
27 Kildare 6.2% 6.3% 0.1%
28 Roscommon 7.0% 6.3% -0.8%
State 8.8% 8.5% -0.3%
Source: Census 2006 34 DEPENDENCY AND POVERTY
LIVE REGISTER ANALYSIS
IN MAY 2009 COUNTY DONEGAL HAD 19,061 PERSONS SIGNING ON THE LIVE REGISTER AND THIS HAD INCREASED BY 80 % FROM MAY 2008.
The total number of persons signing on the live register in County Donegal reached 19,061 in May 2009 and this has increased by 80 % (8484 persons) from May 2008. A gender breakdown reveals that 67% (12790) are males and 33 % (6271) are females. Over the period from May 2008 to May 2009 there was a larger percentage increase in the number of males signing on the live register than females (90.7% versus 62.1%).
The number of persons signing on the live register can be further disaggregated by age which reveals in May 2009 there was 4711 persons (or 25%) were aged under 25 years and 14350 persons (or 75%) were over 25 years of age. The most notable percentage increase in the numbers signing on the live register falls into the ‘male under 25 years of age category’ at 105%.
Although all local social welfare offices of registration experience increases in the numbers signing on the actual share of total persons signing on the live register within the county has decreased since May 2008 in Letterkenny (- 0.5%) , Dungloe (-2.3%), Dunfanaghy (-0.5%) Killybegs (-1.8 %). The share increased in Buncrana (+2.4%), Ballybofey (+ 1.5%), Donegal town (+0.5%), Ballyshannon (+0.6%). So the distribution of persons signing on the live register is changing within the county.
THE MALE UNDER 25 YEARS OF AGE CATEGORY ACCOUNTED FOR THE LARGEST percentage INCREASE IN THE NUMBERS SIGNING ON THE LIVE REGISTER AT 105%.
Table 4.9 Numbers On The Live Register In County Donegal In May 2009 By Age & Gender
May 2008 May 2009 % Change
U25 1511 3109 105.8%
Male 25+ 5197 9681 86.3%
Total 6708 12790 90.7%
U25 888 1602 80.4%
Female 25+ 2981 4669 56.6%
Total 3869 6271 62.1%
U25 2399 4711 96.4%
Total 25+ 8178 14350 75.5%
Total 10577 19061 80.2%
Source: Live Register Additional Tables, CSO, 2009
The European Commission asserted in its 2009 report on equality between men and women illustrates that the economic slowdown is more likely to affect women than men. Over the period January to September 2009 the number of women signing on the live register increased at a faster rate of 21.4% (from 5,577 to 6,769) compared to an 18.8% increase in the number of men signing on the register (from 11,195 to 13,298). DEPENDENCY AND POVERTY 35
THERE HAS BEEN A FASTER INCREASE IN THE percentage OF FEMALE SIGNING ON THE LIVE REGISTER THAN MALES FROM JANUARY TO SEPTEMBER 2009.
4.4 AVERAGE DISPOSABLE INCOME
In 2006 County Donegal had the lowest disposable income per person out of all the counties in the State at €17,252, which is almost 17% below the average for the State at €20,678. Dublin had the highest disposable income per person @ €23,226. The comparable figure for the Border Region is €18,848.
Figure 4.1 Average Disposable Incomes Per Person By County 2006
Source: County Incomes and Regional GDP, February 2009, CSO 2009
IN 2006, COUNTY DONEGAL HAD THE LOWEST DISPOSABLE INCOME PER PERSON OUT OF ALL OTHER COUNTIES WITHIN THE STATE AT €17,252.
4.5 WELFARE PAYMENTS
4.5.1 LIVE REGISTER PAYMENTS
Jobseeker’s Benefit is a weekly payment made to people who are out of work and covered by social insurance (PRSI). This is a short term payment and was originally called Unemployment Benefit. If a person does not qualify for Jobseekers Benefit, they may be entitled to Jobseekers Allowance, which was originally called Unemployment Assistance. Table 4.10 on page 36 highlights that there were 7,552 persons in receipt of Job Seekers Benefit for less than 1 year and 280 for periods greater than 1 year. In addition, the largest proportion of persons in receipt of Jobseekers benefit were aged between 25 and 44 years of age. In comparison, there were 6,909 persons in receipt of Jobseekers Allowance for less than one year and 3,084 for over one year in April 2009. The largest segments of these were aged between 20 to 34 years of age. 36 DEPENDENCY AND POVERTY
Table 4.10 Live Register Classified By Gender, Type Of Claim, Age And Duration Of Continuous Registration, April 2009
Males Females Total Males Females Total
Unemployment Benefit Under 1 Year Over 1 year
Under 20 years 81 15 96 1 0 1
20 - 24 years 880 367 1247 15 5 20
25 - 34 years 1624 903 2527 66 27 93
35 - 44 years 1069 653 1722 55 24 79
45 - 54 years 685 548 1233 45 13 58
55 - 59 years 268 145 413 13 5 18
60 - 64 years 201 113 314 10 1 11
Total 4808 2744 7552 205 75 280
Unemployment Assistance
Under 20 years 535 264 799 66 30 96
20 - 24 years 1063 658 1721 322 175 497
25 - 34 years 1449 504 1953 571 158 729
35 - 44 years 930 343 1273 549 177 726
45 - 54 years 558 237 795 554 169 723
55 - 59 years 150 71 221 170 45 215
60 - 64 years 108 39 147 71 27 98
Total 4793 2116 6909 2303 781 3084
Other Registrants
Under 20 years 3 3 0 0
20 - 24 years 6 1 7 0 1 1
25 - 34 years 15 34 49 1 22 23
35 - 44 years 21 78 99 13 85 98
45 - 54 years 29 58 87 21 71 92
55 - 59 years 16 35 51 23 36 59
60 - 64 years 14 27 41 25 32 57
Total 104 233 337 83 247 330
Source: Labour Market Section, CSO, April 2009
IN APRIL 2009 THERE WERE 7,802 PERSONS IN RECEIPT OF JOB SEEKER BENEFIT AND 9,993 PERSONS IN RECEIPT OF JOBSEEKERS ALLOWANCE. PERSONS IN RECEIPT OF JOBSEEKERS ALLOWANCE ARE YOUNGER THAN THOSE IN RECEIPT OF JOBSEEKERS BENEFIT. DEPENDENCY AND POVERTY 37
4.5.2 PENSIONS
In December 2008 there were 6,192 persons in receipt of the State Contributory Pension in County Donegal which is paid to people from the age of 66 years who have made enough Irish social insurance contributions. It is not means tested and therefore a person can have other income and still receive this pension. In addition, there were 201 persons in receipt of the State Transition Pension which is paid to people aged 65 years and over who have retired from work and who have made enough social insurance contributions and again is not means tested. There were 6,487 persons in receipt of the non contributory State Pension which may be paid from age 66 years to people in Ireland who do not qualify for a contributory State Pension. The Pre-Retirement Allowance (PRETA) is for people in Ireland aged 55 years and over who have left the labour force, is means-tested7.
Figure 4.2 Numbers Of Recipients In County Donegal By Type Of Pension Scheme, 2008
Source: Statistical Unit, Social Welfare, December 2008
There were 3,261 persons in receipt of a contributory Widow/er’s Pension which is a weekly payment to the husband or wife of a deceased person; either of which must have made enough social insurance contributions (PRSI). To qualify the beneficiary must be a widow or widower and must not be living with another person as man and wife. The pension is payable regardless of other income. There were 185 persons in receipt of the means tested non contributory Widow/er’s Pension.
4.5.3 SICKNESS OR DISABILITY PAYMENTS
In December 2008 approximately 3,034 persons qualified for Illness Benefit, which is a payment for persons who are unable to work as they are sick or ill. This payment is covered by social insurance contributions (PRSI). There were 1,606 persons in receipt of Invalidity Pension which is weekly payment to people who cannot work because of a long-term illness or disability and are covered by social insurance.
375 persons received the Disablement Benefit, which is a benefit under the Occupational Injuries Scheme and 4,433
7 Since 4 July 2007, no new applications for Pre-Retirement Allowance are accepted. However, if a persons was in receipt of a Pre-Retirement Allowance before 4 July 2007 they are not affected and can continue to receive the payment. 38 DEPENDENCY AND POVERTY
persons received the Disability Allowance which is a weekly allowance paid to people with a disability who are between 16 and 65 years of age.
Carer’s Allowance is a payment to people living in Ireland who are looking after someone who is in need of support because of age, physical or learning disability or illness, including mental illness. The Carer’s Allowance is not payable to everyone, it is mainly aimed at carers on low incomes who live with and look after certain people who need full-time care and attention. In County Donegal approximately 2,731 persons received the Carers Allowance while 100 persons received the Carer’s Benefit which is a payment made to insured persons in Ireland who leave the workforce to care for a person(s) in need of full-time care and attention.
Table 4.11 Sickness Or Disability Payments In County Donegal, 2008
Illness Invalidity Disablement Disability Carer’s Carer’s Benefit Pension Benefit Allowance Allowance Benefit
Number 3,034 1,606 375 4,433 2,731 100
Source: Statistical Unit, Social Welfare, December 2008
4.5.4 ONE PARENT PAYMENTS
Deserted Wife’s Benefit and Deserted Wife’s Allowance are two social welfare payments made to women in Ireland who were deserted by their husbands. Both of these payments were closed to new applications in January 1997, when the One- Parent Family Payment was introduced.
In December 2008, there were 3,755 persons in receipt of a One-Parent Family Payment (OFP) which is a means tested payment for either men and women who are parenting alone without the support of a partner. For example, it is payable to an unmarried person, a widowed person, a prisoner’s spouse, a separated or divorced person, or one whose marriage has been annulled.
4.5.5 CHILD RELATED PAYMENTS
Child Benefit (previously known as Children’s Allowance) is payable to the parents or guardians of children under 16 years of age, or under 19 years of age if the child is in full-time education, FÁS Youthreach training or has a disability. In County Donegal, in 2008 there were 41,462 children in receipt of Child Benefits Payments and 29,462 Child Benefit Recipients.
4.5.6 OTHER PAYMENTS
Table 4.12 Other Payments
Family Back to Back to Back to Supp Mortgage Farm Income Work Self- Work Education Welfare Rent Supp Interest Assist Supp Employed Employee Allowance Allowance Supp
Number 1,523 1,053 430 248 418 1,259 3,282 164 Source: Statistical Unit, Social Welfare, December 2008 HOUSING AND POVERTY 39
CHAPTER 5: HOUSING and POVERTY
5.0 INTRODUCTION
According to a UN declaration that resulted from the World Summit on Social Development in Copenhagen in 1995, absolute poverty is “a condition characterised by severe deprivation of basic human needs, including food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, education and information. It depends not only on income but also on access to services.” A persons is said to be in absolute poverty when they are homeless, living rough or sleeping on the streets and don’t have access to basic necessities. According to the Combat Poverty Agency ‘there is an insufficient supply of appropriate and affordable homes for people in poverty and people who are homeless1’. People who experience poverty may live in poor quality private rented housing, have rent arrears, be under eviction proceedings or have no security of tenure. Housing costs such as high rents increase the poverty risk of people living in private rented houses or flats or apartments.’ This chapter examines the concept of poverty and housing in County Donegal.
5.1 GENERAL HOUSING IN COUNTY DONEGAL
In 2006, there were 50,415 private households in County Donegal2 (see Table 5.1 below). Of the permanent private households 26% were in aggregate town areas and 74% were in aggregate rural areas, contrasting sharply with the State where there were 62% residing in town areas and 38% in rural areas.
Table 5.1: Type Of Private Households
Donegal State Age Group Persons (%) Persons (%)
Permanent 49993 99.2% 1462296 99.5%
Temporary 422 0.8% 7225 0.5%
Number of Private Households 50415 100.00% 1469521 100.00% Source: Census, 2006
Table 5.2 below, presents the average number of persons in permanent housing units in County Donegal and the State over the census periods 2002 – 2006. The average household size in County Donegal has decreased from 3.02 in 2002 to 2.87 persons in 2006, while for the State it decreased from 2.95 to 2.81 persons
Table 5.2: Average Number Of Persons Per Private Household
Geographic Area 2002 2006
Donegal 3.02 2.87
Agg. Town Area 2.83 2.69
Agg. Rural Area 3.08 2.93
State 2.95 2.81
Agg. Town Area 2.86 2.72
Agg. Rural Area 3.09 2.96 Source: Census, 2006
1 Combat Poverty Agency 2009, Facts about Poverty ‘Homelessness and Poverty’. 2 Total Private Households includes permanent private households and temporary private households. 40 HOUSING AND POVERTY
5.1.1 A HISTORY OF HOUSING
Table 5.3 below disaggregates the total number of permanent private households (49,993) in County Donegal by year built. County Donegal’s building boom has been widely reported and documented and since 1971 County Donegal has outstripped the State in terms of the percentage of private dwellings in permanent housing units constructed. The boom in housing construction in County Donegal in the period 2001 or later is evident when compared to housing constructed in the country. County Donegal ranks eight highest in the State in terms of the number of houses constructed (9671) post 2001 after the more urban settlements of Dublin, Cork, Galway, Meath, Kildare, Wexford and Limerick. Approximately, 19.3% of our total housing permanent stock was constructed in 2001 or later and 11.3% dates to pre 1919.
Table 5.3: Private Dwellings (Number) In Permanent Housing Units In County Donegal And The State, Classified By Period In Which Built, 2006
Before 2001 Not Area 1919-1940 1941-1960 1961-1970 1971-1980 1981-1990 1991-1995 1996-2000 1919 or later Stated
Donegal 5669 2885 3317 3083 7252 7202 3601 6180 9671 1133
State 154352 107645 142414 112969 212382 166021 93086 154774 249443 69210 Source: Census, 2006
5.2 TRAVELLER ACCOMMODATION IN COUNTY DONEGAL
The distribution of Traveller families throughout County Donegal in presented in Map 3.4, of Chapter 3. Although the annual count is a better indicator of the number of Traveller families around County Donegal, it is likely that it still underestimates the actual transient Traveller population. The data supplied by the Traveller Accommodation Unit in Table 5.4 on page 41 suggests that there has been substantial increase in the number of families residing in conventional housing (Standard Housing or Private Rented Housing) since 1999. In 2007, there were 114 families residing in Local Authority Standard Housing, 57 families in Private Rented Accommodation and 12 in Local Authority Group Housing compared to 1999 when there were 68 families living in such conventional housing. One of the most notable trends over the period (1999-2007) was the decline in those families living in roadside or unauthorised sites from 35 families in 1999 to 4 families in 2007. In 2007, there were 16 families living in permanent or temporary sites in County Donegal.
A SUBSTANTIAL INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF FAMILIES LIVING IN CONVENTIONAL HOUSING SINCE 1999 and A DEClINE IN FAMILIes LIVING IN ROADSIDE Or UNAUTHORISED SITES OVER THE PERIOD 1999-2007. HOUSING AND POVERTY 41
Table 5.4: Traveller Accommodation In County Donegal
Year Type of Accommodation 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Standard Housing 51 61 68 78 90 99 91 98 108 114 125
Private Rented n/a 7 7 13 17 16 29 35 41 57 81
Group Housing 0 0 4 4 12 12 11 11 12 12 12
Temporary Sites 11 1 3 20 26 15 20 8 9 9 8 Permanent Sites 5 19 7 7 9 6 7 7 7 6
Sharing With relatives n/a 5 6 15 13 9 5 3 7 6 3
Roadside/ 23 35 39 21 6 0 3 1 0 4 Unauthorised Sites
Other 3 0 0 0 2 1 3 8 2 0
Total 93 128 134 158 175 158 169 171 186 208 229 Source: Housing Directorate, Donegal County Council 2009
5.3 HOUSING NEEDs IN COUNTY DONEGAL
5.3.1 NETT HOUSING NEED
Table 5.5 below highlights that there was a cumulative nett3 housing need of 3107 for Donegal County Council and the three Town Councils in 2008 and when overlaps are extracted this equates to 2224 houses. The corresponding nett housing need figure for 2005 was 1077. To determine the factors that are driving housing need in Donegal in 2008, it is necessary to examine the reasons why people were applying for housing and this is carried out in section 5.3.2 below.
Table 5.5: Nett Housing Need In County Donegal, 2008
Letterkenny Buncrana Bundoran Donegal County Council Town Council Town Council Town Council
Net Housing Need, 2008 1858 910 225 114
Source: Housing Directorate, Donegal County Council 2009
COUNTY DONEGAL HAD A NETT HOUSING NEED OF 2,224 HOUSES IN 2008.
5.3.2 CATEGORY OF HOUSING NEED
An overall assessment of gross housing need, as carried out by the Housing Directorate of Donegal County Council would indicate that the main category of housing need over the period 01/04/2008 to 31/03/2009 was firstly for ‘medical or compassion reasons’, secondly for those ‘not reasonably able to meet the costs of accommodation’, thirdly for the ‘elderly’ and fourthly for those living in ‘unfit accommodation’.
3 This is calculated by subtracting the total number of households whose needs could in the opinion of the authority be best met by an alternative measure from the total number of households who were considered in the assessment to be eligible for local authority housing. 42 HOUSING AND POVERTY
THE TOP TWO REASONS FOR REQUIRING HOUSING IN COUNTY DONEGAL IS ON ‘MEDICAL OR COMPASSION REASONS’ AND ‘PERSONS NOT REASONABLY ABLE TO MEET THE COST OF ACCOMMODATION’.
Figure 5.1 Category Of Housing Need In County Donegal, April 2008 – April 2009
Source: Housing Directorate, Donegal County Council 2009
5.3.3 INCOME LEVEL OF HOUSEHOLDS
Income poverty is defined by the Combat Poverty Agency as having an income that is below a certain financial threshold in Ireland. In 2007, this equated to 60% of the medium national income which is €219.96 per week or €11,437 per annum. An analysis of the income levels of households in need of housing in Donegal is presented in Table 5.6 below, which reveals that 34% have an income level of under €10,000 per annum and 43% are between €10,000 and €15,000 per annum.
Table 5.6: Income Analysis By Household (Gross Need) 2008
Up to €10,001- €15,001- €20,001– €25,001- More than €10,000 €15,000 €20,000 €25,000 €30,000 €30,000
% of Households 34% 43% 13% 7% 2% 1%
Source: Housing Directorate, Donegal County Council 2009 HOUSING AND POVERTY 43
77% OF ALL PERSONS IN NEED OF HOUSING IN COUNTY DONEGAL HAVE AN INCOME OF LESS THAN €15,000.
5.3.4 HOUSING WAITING LISTS
Although there is no indicative housing period to assess the duration a person waits on the housing list, taking a sample of applicants who were housed over a period of 90 days would indicate that the average waiting time is 2.8 years.
Waiting List For Special Housing Grants
The new Mobility Aids Housing Grant Scheme was introduced from the 1st November 2007. The scheme is designed to fast track grant aid to cover basic adaptations to address mobility problems primarily, but not exclusively associated with ageing. In County Donegal, there were 214 Mobility Aids Housing Grants given and the average waiting times was 11 weeks. (see Table 5.7 below).
In County Donegal there were 339 Housing Adaptation Grant Schemes for People with Disabilities and the average waiting time was 9 weeks. This grant is available where changes are needed to enable a house to accommodate a person with a physical, sensory, intellectual disability or mental health difficulty. This grant replaced the Disabled Persons Grant from the 1st November 2007.
There were 794 grants under the Housing Aid for Older People Schemes in County Donegal. This scheme is used to improve the conditions of an older persons house. In general, it applies to persons over 60 years of age but it may be given to a person under that age in a case of genuine hardship. The average waiting time for such a grant is 12 weeks.
Table 5.7: Donegal Local Authority Housing Grants
2007 2008 Waiting Time
Disabled Persons Grant 450 2 n/a
Mobility Aids Housing Grants 21 214 11 weeks
Housing Adaptation Grant Scheme for People with Disabilities 29 339 9 weeks
Essential Repairs Grant 607 1 n/a
Housing Aid for Older People 56 794 12 weeks
Source: Housing Directorate, Donegal County Council, 2009 44 HOUSING AND POVERTY
5.3.5 HOMELESSNESS
The Housing Act 1988 defines a homeless person as somebody who has no reasonable accommodation to live in or lives in a hospital, institution or night shelter as they don’t have a home. Table 5.8 below highlights that there were 215 children and 285 adults who were assisted either by a payment being made from Donegal County Council or towards a deposit for accommodation or in respect of B&B Accommodation in the year 2008.
Table 5.8: Number Of People Accepted As Homeless4 By Donegal County Council, 2008
Local Authority Children Adults
Donegal 215 386
Source: Housing Directorate, Donegal County Council 2009
5.3.6 ASYLUM SEEKERS, REFUGEES
It was outlined in Chapter 3 that there were a total of 138 Asylum Seekers (including newborns) registered with the HSE at the end of April 2009. Of the 138 Asylum Seekers 63 were residing in Dispersal Centers and 75 were placed in private rented accommodation.
5.4 FUEL POVERTY
According to the All Ireland Policy Paper on Fuel Poverty and Health5 fuel poverty occurs when a household needs to spend more than 10% of their income on energy in order to maintain an acceptable level of heat throughout their home6. Fuel poverty is a result of the relationship between income levels of households, energy efficiency of the dwellings and fuel prices. In County Donegal, 30% of permanent households were built pre 1970s and as outlined by the Retired Workers Committee in 2009 ‘Older premises that are not draught-proofed and that have large rooms are very hard to heat and this has a detrimental effect on older people’7.
In 2006, County Donegal had the lowest estimates of disposable income recorded in the entire State. Research would indicate that dwellings that are occupied by low income households often lack thermal insulation and have expensive, inefficient heating and hot water provision. Cooking costs may be higher due to a lack of choice of appliances, which are often inefficient in comparison to the best available. In addition, lighting tends to be the conventional tungsten light bulbs rather than the low energy lights and such households tend to be not well informed about energy efficiency. Furthermore, these households often don’t have the additional funds to make any recommended improvements.
The escalating fuels prices recorded in recent years have also increased the average weekly spend required to tackle fuel poverty in the home. Over the period June 2000 to January 2008 electricity prices doubled and kerosene prices increased by 78% impacting again more severely on low income households.
It is recognised that there are a number of households who are more vulnerable to fuel poverty than other:
» Low-income Households – According to Census 2006, County Donegal has the highest levels of unemployment in the entire State in 2009. By September 2009, there were approximately 20,067 persons on the live register or an increase of 60 % from September 2008. According to Healy, 20048 nearly a quarter of income households that are headed by an unemployed person are unable to heat their homes properly. » Older Person Households - County Donegal has a higher age dependency rate than the State (35.2% versus 31.4%) and it is accepted that older persons are also more likely to be at risk of fuel poverty due to the decline of income experienced by many post retirement and the likelihood that they reside in the older and harder to heat homes. Persons over 80 are regarded as being at a particular risk to the health effects associated with fuel poverty and in County Donegal there are approximately 4,753 persons who fall into this category.
4 Including Colmcille Hostel. 5 Mc Avoy, H. All Ireland Policy Paper on Fuel Poverty and Health. Dublin: Institute of Public Health in Ireland, 2007. 6 The World Health Organisation regards an acceptable level of heat as 21 degrees Celsius in the living room and 18 degrees Celsius in other occupied rooms. 7 See the Budget Submission 2010, Retired Workers Committee. 8 Healy, J.D. Housing, Fuel Poverty and Health – A Pan European Analysis. Hants; Ashgate Publishing, 2004. HOUSING AND POVERTY 45
» Lone Person Households - In County Donegal 12.4% of private households are headed by a lone parent and this is higher than the State (11.6%). According to Healy, 2004 the highest incidence of fuel poverty in Ireland has been recorded among lone parents and this in turn has an impact on child poverty.
A study commissioned by Energy Action and undertaken by the Energy Research Group, UCD in 19999, concluded that the levels of fuel poverty in Ireland were the highest in Europe and that Irish housing standards had poor thermal efficiency and that the least well off tended to live in the worst of these houses. In 2006, County Donegal had approximately 4102 private households in Donegal who did not have central heating, of which 78.3% reside in Aggregate Rural Areas and 21.7% in Aggregate Urban Areas. As the county with the highest level of deprivation and poverty in the State fuel poverty is a real threat within the county.
In 2008, the Social Inclusion Unit, Donegal County Council in an attempt to alleviate fuel poverty within the county undertook a ‘Keeping Warm Community Initiative’10. This project involved working with a range of organisations including the ESB to provide over 500 households in the county with information packs including CFL light bulbs, information on energy efficiency and keeping their houses warm during the winter.
9 ‘Homes for the 21st century’ Energy Research Group and Environmental Institute University College Dublin, 1999. 10 For which they won first place in the Chambers Ireland’s 6th Annual Excellence in Local Government Awards in the County Development Board Integrated Service Delivery category. 46 HEALTH AND POVERTY
CHAPTER 6: HEALTH and POVERTY
6.1 INTRODUCTION
‘The social conditions in which people live powerfully influence their chances to be healthy. Indeed factors such as poverty, food insecurity, social exclusion and discrimination, poor housing, unhealthy early childhood conditions and low occupational status are important determinants of most diseases, deaths and health inequalities between and within countries.’ World Health Organization, 2004
It is generally accepted that socio economic factors including poverty are one of the key determinants of a person’s health and that people who are at risk of poverty are sick more often and die younger. This chapter uses a number of key indicators to examine the impact of County Donegal’s above average deprivation rates on the health of the county.
6.2 GENERAL HEALTH OF THE POPULATION
6.2.1 BIRTH RATES FOR COUNTY DONEGAL 2007 AND 2008
In 2008 there were 2,263 births in County Donegal an increase of 7% from 2007. Of the total number of live births there were 1,480 to married parents (65%1) and 783 (35%2) were to unmarried parents of which 299 unmarried parents (or 13%) resided at the same address. In 2008 the birth rates in County Donegal were lower (at 14.73) than for the Border (16.0) or the State (17.0).
Table 6.1 Births Rates Pre 1000 Average Population For County Donegal, The Border And The State For 2007 & 2008
Total Births 2008 Males Births 2008 Females Birth 2008 Birth Rate 2008 Birth Rate 2007
Donegal 2,263 1,175 1,088 14.7 14.0
Border 7,875 4,069 3,806 16.0 14.8
State 75,065 38,593 36,472 17.0 16.3
Source: Vital Statistics Yearly Summary, 2008
IN 2008 35% OF BIRTHS WERE TO UNMARRIED PARENTS WHICH IS HIGHER THAN THE AVERAGES FOR THE STATE (33%) AND FOR THE BORDER REGION (33%).
6.2.2 DEATH RATES FOR COUNTY DONEGAL 2007 AND 2008
There were 1,094 deaths in County Donegal in 2008. The death rate for Donegal is higher than the State at 7.1 per 1000 of the population. See Table 6.2 below on page 47.
Table 6.3 outlines the principle cause of death in County Donegal in 2008. It indicates that the majority of deaths (or 36%) that occurred were from Diseases of the Circulatory System with 27% of deaths from Malignant Neoplasm’s and 19% from other causes. The majority of deaths in State were also from Diseases of the Circulatory System.
1 A decrease from 68% in 2007. 2 An increase from 32 % in 2007. 3 Births per year per 1,000 of the population. Annual rates based on estimated 2008 population. HEALTH AND POVERTY 47
Table 6.2: Death Rates Pre 1000 Average Population For County Donegal, The Border And The State For 2007 & 2008
Total Deaths Males Deaths Females Deaths Death Rate Death Rate 2008 2008 2008 2008 2007
Donegal 1,094 551 543 7.1 6.9
Border 3,473 1,818 1,655 7.1 7.2
State 28,192 14,413 13,779 6.4 6.5
Source: Vital Statistics Yearly Summary, 2008
Table 6.3: Deaths registered by cause of death in County Donegal and the State 2008
Diseases of the Diseases of the Total Deaths Malignant Circulatory Respiratory External Causes Other Causes 2008 Neoplasms System System 1,094 299 389 159 39 208 Donegal 27.3% 35.6% 14.5% 3.6% 19.0%
28,192 8,203 9,883 3,436 1,663 5,007 State 29.1% 35.1% 12.2% 5.9% 17.8%
Source: Vital Statistics Yearly Summary, 2008
THE MAIN CAUSE OF DEATHS IN COUNTY DONEGAL AND THE STATE IN 2008 WAS FROM DISEASES OF THE CIRCULATORY SYSTEM.
Older Women’s Heath Given that 56% of all persons over 70 years of age are female in County Donegal some attention needs to given to causes of deaths of older women. Research carried out by the Older Women’s Network in Ireland highlights that:
» Cardiovascular Disease is the biggest cause of deaths in women with the majority of deaths occurring in women over 65 years, » More than 54% of all cancers in women occur over the age of 65 years of age, » Women over 65 years of age are more likely to suffer an increasing risk of single or multiple types of disability, » Two thirds of long stay patients are women and most of them are over 65 years of age.
Infant Mortality And Neonatal Mortality Rates Table 6.4 below highlights the Infant Mortality Rates (or death of infants under one year) and Neonatal mortality rates (or deaths of infants under 28 days)4 for County Donegal and the State from 2004-2008. This time series of data highlights that both the Infant Mortality Rates and Neonatal Mortality Rates for County Donegal were higher than the State for the year 2004, 2006 and 2008.
4 Infant Mortality is calculated by dividing the number of infant deaths by number of live births for a year per 1000 of the population. Neonatal Mortality is calculated by dividing the number of neonatal deaths by number of live births per 1000 of the population. 48 HEALTH AND POVERTY
Table 6.4 Infant Mortality & Neonatal Mortality Rates In County Donegal And The State
Infant Mortality Rate 2008 Neonatal Mortality Rate
Donegal State Donegal State
2008 5.7 (13) 3.9 (290) 4.4 (10) 2.7 (200)
2006 6.8 (14) 3.7 (237) 5.8 (12) 2.6 (168)
2004 5.8 (11) 4.9 (300) 4.2 (8) 3.5 (214)
Source: Annual Report on Vital Statistics, 2004, 2006 & 2008
INFANT MORTALITY AND NEONATAL MORTALITY RATES WERE HIGHER IN COUNTY DONEGAL THAN IN THE STATE IN THE YEARS 2004, 2006, 2008.
6.2.3 CARERS AND PERSONS UNABLE TO WORK
Census 2006, highlights the total number of carers in County Donegal was 5,698 and this equates to 5% of the total population aged 15 years and over. (See Table 6.5, below). The corresponding figure for the State was 4.8%. This table also highlights that 30% (or 1,717 carers) in County Donegal supply in excess of 43 hours per week in unpaid care. This figure is higher than in the State where 25% work 43 or more hours providing care. Map 6.1 on page 49 examines the distribution of carers across the 149 Electoral Divisions within County Donegal.
Table 6.5: Total Number Of Carers In County Donegal And The State By Number Of Hours Of Care Provided Per Week
Carers as 1-14 hours 29-42 hours 43 or more Unpaid help Total persons Total carers a % of total a week a week hours a week persons Donegal 113838 5698 2955 644 382 1717 5
State 3375399 160917 93363 17093 9578 40883 4.8 Source: Census, 2006 HEALTH AND POVERTY 49
Map 6.1 Total Number Of Unpaid Carers By Electoral Division In County Donegal, 2006
5% OF THE POPULATION 15 YEARS AND OVER (OR 5698 PERSONS) IN COUNTY DONEGAL ARE CARERS.
6.3: HEALTH OF KEY TARGET GROUPS
6.3.1 PEOPLE WITH A DISABILITY
In 2006, in County Donegal, there were approximately 14,981 people with some form of disability (physical, emotional, intellectual or mental). This equates to 10.2% of the population of which the highest proportion falls into the older age category. In addition, County Donegal has a higher percentage of the total persons with a disability, falling into the over 65 age category (38% versus 35%) and the under 14 age category (9% versus 8%). It was highlighted in Chapter 4 that County Donegal has a higher percentage of its population 15 years and over who were unable to work due to permanent sickness or disability than in the State (5.8% versus 4.1%). 50 HEALTH AND POVERTY
Table 6.6 Age Profile Of People With A Disability In County Donegal And The State, 2006
Population Total Aged 1-14 Aged 15-24 Aged 35-44 Aged 44-64 Aged 65+
Donegal 14,981 1,282 1,035 2,589 4,358 5,717
State 393,785 33,256 29,047 78,326 114,899 138,257 Source: Gamma, 2006
Map 6.2 Percentages Of Persons With A Disability By Electoral Division In County Donegal
APPROXIMATELY 10.2% OF COUNTY DONEGALS POPULATION HAS SOME FORM OF DISABILITY. THERE is A HIGHER PERCENTAGE OF FEMALES WITH A DISABILITY LIVING ALONE IN COUNTY DONEGAL THAN MALES WITH A DISABILITY.
In 2006, there were approximately 12,214 Persons with a Disability living in private households of which 6,054 were males and 6,160 were females. Of the 2,744 Persons with a Disability who were living alone the majority were females (55%). Therefore 24.5% of all females with a disability in private households were living alone compared to 20.4% of all males with a Disability. HEALTH AND POVERTY 51
6.3.2 WOMENS HEALTH, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND POVERTY
Anecdotal evidence would suggest that women who are at risk of poverty have an increased chance of staying in situations of domestic violence than those who are not. In 2008, the Donegal Women’s Domestic Violence Service (DWDVS) received 2015 calls to its helpline. The service also received requests for accommodation for 79 women and 86 children of which the service accommodated 38 women and 43 children. In addition, the service also runs Outreach Clinics5 which were attended by 454 women in domestic violence situations in 2008.
Table 6.7 (a & b) quantifies activity levels for these services over the first 3 months of 2008 and 2009. The total number of calls received in the first quarter had increased by 11% for the Donegal Domestic Violence Service and by 28% for the Donegal Sexual Abuse and Rape Crises Services (DSARCC), approximately 70 of these calls are from females aged between 35 – 50 years of age.
Statistics supplied by the DSARCC highlights that in 2007 approximately 60% of men and women attending the Donegal Sexual Abuse and Rape Crisis Centre had not reported the abuse to anyone and this percentage had increased to 73% in 2008.
The Inishowen Women’s Outreach6 provides a confidential and professional service, from a community approach, to women and children who are experiencing or have experienced domestic abuse. In addition, this service provides helpline, information support, advocacy, court accompaniment, counselling for women, counselling for children, training for volunteers and service providers and awareness raising. An Outreach service is also provided throughout Inishowen. Table 6.7 (c) on page 50 highlights that there has been a 5% increase in the usage statistics for this service between the first quarter of 2007 and the first quarter of 2008.
Table 6.7 (a) Women’s Donegal Domestic Violence Service, 2008 And 2009
2008 2009 Women’s Domestic Violence Service Jan Feb Mar Jan Feb Mar
(1) Number of Centres providing Outreach Clinics, this month 4 4 6 6 6 6
(2) Number of people attending these clinics (actual people) 27 43 36 42 56 46
(3) Number of attendances at these clinics 27 43 36 42 56 46
(4) …of (2) above, number of new people attending clinics 2 43 7 11 7 3
(5) Number of Helpline Calls, this month 188 171 176 207 158 230
• …of these calls, number of enquiries 24 29 26 32 29 27
• …of these calls, number of requests for accommodation 25 16 14 13 4 2
(6) Of those requesting accommodation, number who received 3 11 3 8 2 1 accommodation
• …of the above, number of children 1 8 1 6 0 0
(7) Of those requesting accommodation, number who did not 22 5 11 5 2 1 receive accommodation
• …of the above, number of children 14 2 7 3 0 0 Source: HSE West, 2009
5 These are provided for women who are looking for support but are not in a situation whereby they are ready to leave. In these situation the DDVS is provided through outreach in an area. 6 Funded by the H.S.E, Commission for the Support of Victims of Crime, Pobal, Family Support Agency, Dept of Social and Family Affairs and Inishowen Development Partnership. 52 HEALTH AND POVERTY
Table 6.7 (b) Donegal Sexual Abuse And Rape Crisis Centre, 2008 And 2009
2008 2009 Rape Crisis Centre Jan Feb Mar Jan Feb Mar
(1) Number of Helpline Calls, this month 161 134 118 146 218 166
(2) …of these calls, number of enquiries 59 60 56 70 75 51
(3) …of these calls, number of requests counselling 16 26 21 26 59 25
(4) …of these calls, number not able to be answered: number of 86 48 41 50 84 90 hang-ups on answer phone
(5) Number of clients receiving one to one counselling 18 10 8 20 31 23
(6) Number of clients who finished counselling this month 0 0 1 3 2 2 (actual number)
(7) Number of clients currently on waiting list, this month 5 7 7 10 10 10 (actual number)
(8) Number of clients who received preliminary counselling 6 2 3 0 10 0 assessment this month (actual number)
Source: HSE West, 2009
Table 6.7 (c) Usage Statistics For Inishowen Women’s Outreach, 2007 And 2008
Total Helpline Drop in Child Counselling Advocacy (excluding Advocacy)
2007
Jan 49 28 16 5 36
Feb 53 31 18 4 47
Mar 51 32 14 6 38
2008
Jan 37 41 17 9 52
Feb 73 43 20 10 54
Mar 52 32 13 7 27
Source: Inishowen Women’s Outreach 2009 HEALTH AND POVERTY 53
Map 6.3 below locates the Donegal Womans Network services within County Donegal in relation to the female population across the 149 Electoral Areas.
Map 6.3 Services For Women In County Donegal 54 HEALTH AND POVERTY
6.4 MEDICAL CARDS IN COUNTY DONEGAL
On the 1st January 2008 County Donegal had 49.3% of its total population (or 72,590 persons) in receipt of GMS Medical Cards and this is the highest level of entitlements out of all other counties within the State. Over the period Jan 2008 to 2009 the total number of persons eligible for a medical card had increased by 3.8% from 72,590 to 75,346 persons. The number of families in receipt of a medical card had increased by 4.4% over the same period. In addition the total number of persons in receipt of GP Visit Cards had increased by 8.6% from 4,807 in Jan 2008 – 5,218 in Jan 2009. See Table 6.8 below and 6.9 (a-d) on page 55.
Table 6.8: Number & Percentage Of Persons (Including Dependents) Eligible For GMS Medical Card Entitlements In The State 1st Jan 2008
Number %
Donegal 72590 49.29
Leitrim 12309 42.52
Mayo 50867 41.08
Longford 13747 39.97
Roscommon 22338 38.01
Waterford 39423 36.52
Carlow 18384 36.51
Tipperary SR 30242 36.34
Cavan 22429 35.04
Louth 38374 34.49
Tipperary NR 22429 33.97
Wexford 44751 33.97
Sligo 20566 33.77
Clare 35484 31.98
Kerry 44687 31.96
Limerick 58352 31.7
Offaly 22208 31.34
Galway 71692 30.95
Monaghan 17312 30.92
Cork 146072 30.35
Westmeath 23559 29.69
Laois 19441 28.99
Dublin 298100 25.11
Kilkenny 21817 24.92
Wicklow 31251 24.76
Kildare 43656 23.43
Meath 34098 20.94
Source: PCRSR, 2007 ‘Statistical Analysis of Claims and Reimbursements’ HEALTH AND POVERTY 55
COUNTY DONEGAL HAS THE HIGHEST PERCENTAGE OF ITS POPULATION IN RECEIPT OF GMS MEDICAL CARDS OUT OF ALL COUNTIES WITHIN THE STATE.
Table 6.9 (a): Number Of Eligible Persons On Medical Cards In County Donegal By Age & Gender, 1st January 2009
0-4 5-11 12-15 16-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65-69 70-74 75 years Grand Gender years years years years years years years years years years and over Total
Female 2,502 3,961 2,090 4,104 4,448 4,622 3,783 4,385 2,068 2,409 5,327 39,699
Male 2,720 4,237 2,207 3,339 3,157 3,943 3,597 4,095 2,004 2,417 3,931 35,647
Total 5,222 8,198 4,297 7,443 7,605 8,565 7,380 8,480 4,072 4,826 9,258 75,346
Source: JSE Finance Shared Services, Primary care Reimbursement Services, June 2009
Table 6.9 (b): Number Of Eligible Persons On Medical Cards In County Donegal By Age & Gender, 1st January 2008
0-4 5-11 12-15 16-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65-69 70-74 75 years Grand Gender years years years years years years years years years years and over Total
Female 2,334 3,780 2,063 4,108 4,246 4,372 3,708 4,325 2,001 2,346 5,327 38,610
Male 2,598 4,020 2,153 3,131 2,799 3,698 3,417 4,036 2,003 2,256 3,869 33,980
Total 4,932 7,800 4,216 7,239 7,045 8,070 7,125 8,361 4,004 4,602 9,196 72,590
Source: JSE Finance Shared Services, Primary care Reimbursement Services, June 2009
Table 6.9 (c): Number Of Eligible People On GP Visit Cards (DVC Cards), 1st January 2009
0-4 5-11 12-15 16-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65-69 70-74 75 years Grand Gender years years years years years years years years years years and over Total
Female 260 418 212 304 413 458 340 210 54 2,669
Male 287 417 189 277 283 436 325 254 80 1 2,549
Total 547 835 401 581 696 894 665 464 134 1 5,218
Source: JSE Finance Shared Services, Primary care Reimbursement Services, June 2009
Table 6.9 (d): Number Of Eligible People On GP Visit Cards (DVC Cards), 1st January 2008
0-4 5-11 12-15 16-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65-69 70-74 75 years Grand Gender years years years years years years years years years years and over Total
Female 233 384 188 280 399 433 300 196 43 2,456
Male 265 399 186 268 269 401 276 221 65 1 2,351
Total 498 783 374 548 668 834 576 417 108 1 4,807
Source: JSE Finance Shared Services, Primary care Reimbursement Services, June 2009 56 HEALTH AND POVERTY
6.5 COMMUNITY WELFARE SERVICES
HSE West is responsible for delivering Community Welfare Services in Donegal. The purpose of the Community Welfare Scheme is to assist individuals and families, primarily those with financial difficulties, through the administration of a range of income maintenance and Health Service Schemes and also to provide a comprehensive information and referral service.
The Community Welfare Scheme can be divided into three categories; Basic Supplementary Welfare Payments, Supplements including Rents and Exceptional Needs Payments.
For the week ending the 24/04/2009 there was 5,147 payments made at a cost of €666,709 which would equate to €34,666,898.16 for the year. On an average weekly basis there was €292,674.55 provided for Basic Supplementary Welfare Payments, €332,456.60 for Supplements including Rents and €41,578.43 for Exceptional Needs Payments.
THE NUMBER OF COMMUNITY WELFARE PAYMENTS PER WEEK HAS INCREASED BY 29.4% FROM JANuary 2008 TO 2009.
Table 6.10 (a): Community Welfare Payments For Week Ending 24/04/2009
Gender Number of Payments € Amount Per Week
Basic Supplementary Welfare Payments 1,341 €292,674.55
Supplements including Rents 3,710 €332,456.60
Exceptional Needs Payments 96 € 41,578.43
Total 5,147 €666.709.58
Source: Community Services Donegal, 2009
Table 6.10 (b): Community Welfare Payments
Week Ending Number of Payments
24/04/2009 5,147
27/03/2009 5,160
23/01/2009 4,780
27/01/2008 3,694
Source: Community Services Donegal, 2009 EDUCATIONAL DISADVANTAGE AND POVERTY 57
Chapter 7: Educational Disadvantage and Poverty
7.1 Introduction
‘Children growing up in poverty and disadvantage are less likely to do well at school. This feeds into disadvantage in later life and in turn affects their children. To break this cycle, we need to address the attitudes and experiences that lie behind social differences in education.’ Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Sept 2007
Of the total population 15 years and over in County Donegal approximately 98,673 people have completed their education. Of the 15,165 persons 15 years and over who have not completed their full time education 11,122 (or 73%) are still at school, university etc and 4043 (or 27%) are employed on apprenticeship schemes etc. Despite the well distributed level of primary and secondary infrastructure within the county (see Map 7.1 below) and the presence of third level institutes in the north west area, the county still has one of the highest percentages of its population leaving school with no formal or primary education. This chapter presents a number of indicators used to estimate the level of educational disadvantage within the county.
Map 7.1 Primary And Secondary Schools In County Donegal, 2009 58 EDUCATIONAL DISADVANTAGE AND POVERTY
7.2 Early School Leaving in County Donegal
20,414 persons left school in County Donegal under the age of 15 years of age in 2006 which equates to 20.7% of all persons who have finished school within the county. Table 7.1 in Appendix 2 indicates that County Donegal ranks number 1 out of all the counties within the State in terms of having the highest percentage of persons who have left education under the age of 15 years of age. A commonly used indicator of deprivation is early school leaving.
County Donegal ranks highest out of all counties in the State in terms of the percentage of persons who leave school under 15 years of age.
Census 2006 highlights that people in County Donegal are most likely to leave school under the age of 15 years of age, 20.7% compared to 11.3% in the State. Table 7.2 below presents the age at which males and females left school in County Donegal. Females in County Donegal are more likely to stay in school longer than males with 25.1% of females staying in school over the age of 18 years compared to 18.6% of males. The converse also applies in that males are more likely to leave school early or under the age of 15 years, 22.8% versus 18.5%. Therefore, it is hardly surprising that a higher percentage of females attain third level qualifications than males, 26% versus 17.9%.
Males in County Donegal are more likely to leave school under 15 years of age than females.
Table 7.2 Percentage Of Persons Who Leave Education In County Donegal And The State By Age & Gender
U 15 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 years Not Area years years years years years years years years years years years & over stated
Donegal Males 22.8 10.8 15.7 9.6 11.3 3.4 2.8 3.1 2.6 1.8 1.3 3.6 11.1
Donegal Females 18.5 8.7 12.7 10.5 13.1 4.7 4.4 5.1 3.6 2.1 1.4 3.8 11.3
State Males 12.2 7.4 13.1 9.9 14.6 4.4 4.0 4.8 4.5 2.9 2.1 5.3 14.8
State Females 10.4 5.9 10.8 10.9 16.4 5.8 4.7 5.8 4.8 2.9 1.9 5.1 14.6
Source: Census, 2006
7.3 Levels of Educational Attainment in County Donegal
Table 7.3 in the attached appendices presents a league table of all persons in all counties in the State whose full time education has finished. In 2006, this table illustrates that County Donegal ranked number one in terms of having the highest percentage of its population who have left school with no primary (including formal) education. It is important to note that persons with the higher percentages of lower educational attainment level in this table may fall into the older age categories as it takes into account all persons aged over 15 years of age.
County Donegal ranks highest out of all counties in the State in terms of the percentage of persons who have no primary or formal education. EDUCATIONAL DISADVANTAGE AND POVERTY 59
Figure 7.1 (a) Levels Of Educational Attainment In County Donegal, The Border & State 2006
Source: Gamma 2006 60 EDUCATIONAL DISADVANTAGE AND POVERTY
Figure 7.1 (b) Educational Attainment Levels For Males Residing In County Donegal, The Border And The State 7.3.1 Male educational attainment
Figure 7.1 (b) presents male educational attainment levels for County Donegal. It highlights that 32.2% of males in County Donegal have no formal or primary education which is higher than the Border Region at 26.8% and the State at 19.8%. At the other end of the scale County Donegal has a lower percentage of males attaining a third level qualification at 18.5% compared to 20.2% in the Border Region and 27.7% in the State.
Source: Gamma 2006
Figure 7.1 (c) Educational Attainment Levels For Females Residing In Donegal The Border And The State 7.3.2 FEMale educational attainment
Figure 7.1 (c) illustrates that although County Donegal had a lower percentage of females (27.4%) than males (32%) with no formal or primary education this percentage for County Donegal is still higher than in the Border (23.3%) or the State (18.0%). In addition, a higher percentage of females in County Donegal attain a third level education than males (26.9% versus 18.5%) this figure is still lower than in the Border (28.8%) or the State (33.2%).
Source: Gamma 2006 EDUCATIONAL DISADVANTAGE AND POVERTY 61
7.4 Educational Attainment and Unemployment
There appears to be an inverse relationship between educational attainment and unemployment i.e. the lower the levels of educational attainment the higher the likelihood of being unemployed. Figure 7.2 presents an examination of County Donegal’s unemployed persons by levels of educational attainment in 2006 and reveals that County Donegal had a lower percentage of its population unemployed with a third level education (11.5%) and a higher percentage of its unemployed with no formal or primary education (33.6%).
Figure 7.2 Total Unemployed By Levels Of Educational Attainment
Source: Gamma, 2006
County Donegal has higher percentage of its unemployed with no formal or primary education and a lower percentage of its unemployed with a third level education when compared to the Border or the STate. 62 ACCESSING SERVICES AND POVERTY IN COUNTY DONEGAL
Chapter 8: ACCESSING SERVICES and POVERTY IN COUNTY DONEGAL
8.0 INTRODUCTION
‘Almost anywhere in the world, when poor people talk about what poverty means to them, having access to services are almost always a feature. A lack of access to services is an intrinsic part of what it means to be poor. It is both a cause and consequence of poverty.’ Practical Action, Dec 2007
A lack of access to services can cause poverty for example a lack of quality drinking water, central heating and poor sewerage and sanitation services can have severe consequences for health and subsequently a persons ability to work; while inadequate public transport can reduce a persons income-earning opportunities or even the simple pleasures of attending the cinema or theatre, going to a youth club meeting etc. In addition, a lack of services can also be a consequence of poverty i.e. low incomes can mean that people are unable to afford services like access to the Internet or central heating in their houses. The physical environment of an area also has an impact on accessing services for example in a county the size of Donegal, with low population densities and the majority of persons residing in towns of less than 1,500 persons and the availability and distribution of services across the county is of fundamental importance to reducing poverty.
8.1 THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT OF COUNTY DONEGAL
Donegal’s location on the periphery of the island of Ireland, geographically distant from Dublin and mainland Europe hamstrung by the presence of the border has long determined the need to improve good access into and within the County. County Donegal is totally dependent on a roads based transport system reflecting the small internal market and dispersed settlement patterns. Access to the county by air is through one small airport in West Donegal with limited routes available in and out. Additional access is through another small airport, which is in Derry in another jurisdiction. Onwards journeys from these airports are by very substandard roads. There are no means or very little means of public transport available from the airports. Unlike almost all other counties in Ireland, Donegal has no rail network. This increases the importance of the road network even more, not just to and from the county but also within the county. The road network is the artery for the Region’s economy with 100% of goods and people being transported by road, road freight accessibility costs are among the highest in Western Europe. The need to improve roads infrastructure is a key requirement for the economic development and particularly as a catalyst for economic development in the west and the North West.
Because of its peripheral location, access to Donegal from Dublin, Belfast and Europe is the single biggest impediment to attracting foreign investment to the county. This lack of foreign investment is a contributory factor to the county having the highest rates of unemployment in the country, at approximately twice the national average.
The Government has recognised the majority of County Donegal to be a disadvantaged area and has included it in the government’s CLÁR programme. The CLÁR map for Donegal is shown below. However the necessary commitments to funding required for the long standing infrastructural deficiencies of the county have fallen well short of the requirements to enhance the development needs. This is restricting both indigenous economic development and the ability to attract investment to County Donegal. ACCESSING SERVICES AND POVERTY IN COUNTY DONEGAL 63
Map 8.1 National Road Network & CLAR Areas Within The County
County Donegal is one of the largest counties in the State. It has only 5km of Dual Carriageway and no motorway network. The map of Donegal above shows the national road network within the county. It has a total National Primary road length of 148km and a National Secondary road length of 156 km. The standard of these routes fall far short of the national standard. For example the N14, which is the main strategic route from Donegal to Dublin, has one of the highest accident rates in the country due to its poor alignment and inadequate traffic capacity. Map 8.2 on page 64 clearly identifies how isolated County Donegal is from a transport perspective. The county is excluded from a motorway network and it does not have a rail network. The nearest international airports are Belfast and Dublin and no other region in the State is so isolated. 64 ACCESSING SERVICES AND POVERTY IN COUNTY DONEGAL
Map 8.2 Transport In Ireland
Source : NRDO, Donegal County Council, 2009 ACCESSING SERVICES AND POVERTY IN COUNTY DONEGAL 65
COUNTY DONEGAL’S STRATEGIC LINKS, CROSS BORDER LINKS AND INTER COUNTY NETWORK LINKS ARE WELL BELOW THE NATIONAL STANDARDS. IT IS VITAL FOR RURAL COMMUNITIES THAT THE WEAKNESS IN TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE AND SERVICES BE ADDRESSED.
Table 8.1 (a) in Appendix 3 highlights that County Donegal is the fourth largest county in the State in terms of landmass at 4,841 km², after Cork – 7,457km², Galway – 6,148km² and Mayo - 5,585 km². County Donegal also has one of the highest percentages of its population (75% or 110,679) living in rural areas compared to the State average of 39.3%. (See Table 8.2 below).
Table 8.2: Population By Town (Urban) And Rural Area, 2006
Donegal State Area Type & Population 2006 Persons (%) Persons (%)
Aggregate Town Area 36585 24.8% 2574313 60.7%
Aggregate Rural Area 110679 75.2% 1665535 39.3%
Total Population 147264 100% 4239848 100.00%
Source: Census 2006
In addition, Table 8.1 (b) in Appendix 3 also illustrates that County Donegal is the fifth most rurally dispersed county in all of the State with 30.4 persons per km² followed by Kerry (29.5 persons per km²), Roscommon (23.1 persons per km²), Mayo (22.2 persons per km²) and Leitrim (18.2 persons per km²).
COUNTY DONEGAL IS THE FIFTH MOST RURALLY DISPERSED COUNTY IN THE STATE AND THE FOURTH LARGEST COUNTY IN ALL OF IRELAND.
8.2 TRAVELLING AROUND COUNTY DONEGAL
8.2.1 TRAVEL TO WORK
Table 8.3 below reveals that the most popular mode of transport to work in County Donegal in 2006 was by car with approximately 67.1% (or 37,085) of the total number of persons who travel to work using this type of transport and this figure had increased by 2.1% from 2002.
Only 1.8% (or 1015) people used public transport and this figure had decreased by 0.6% over the 2002 to 2006 period. In addition, 8.4% (or 4655 persons) travelled to work on foot each day which had decreased by 1.9% over the 2002 to 2006 period.
66 ACCESSING SERVICES AND POVERTY IN COUNTY DONEGAL
Table 8.3: Persons (Number And Percentage) At Work Aged 15 Years And Over, Classified By County Of Usual Residence And Means Of Travel To Work, 2006
Means of Travel
Work Usual Residence Bus, Train, Motor mainly Motor car: Motor car: Lorry Other Not On foot Bicycle minibus DART cycle or at or Driver Passenger or van means stated or coach or LUAS scooter from home
Donegal 2006 4655 199 1015 21 112 32829 4256 7622 338 3767 475
% 8.4% 0.4% 1.8% 0.0% 0.2% 59.4% 7.7% 13.8% 0.6% 6.8% 0.9%
State 205688 36306 114956 54942 13049 1080446 104861 140590 6445 105706 29798
% 10.9% 1.9% 6.1% 2.9% 0.7% 57.1% 5.5% 7.4% 0.3% 5.6% 1.6%
Source: Census 2006
8.2.2 HOUSEHOLDS WITH NO CAR
In County Donegal 18.1% of total permanent households stated that they did not have access to a car, ranking the county tenth highest out of the 34 local authorities in terms of household not having a motor car.
There are 37,004 households located in Aggregate Rural Areas within County Donegal of which 16.4% or (6055) households do not have a car and this is greater than the corresponding figure for the State (11.4%). In addition, there are 12,989 households located in Aggregate Urban Areas in County Donegal of which 23.1% do not have a car (or 2294) and this figure is lower than the corresponding figure for the State (24.8%). The statistics presented in Table 8.4 below highlights the importance of rural transport provision to these dwellers.
Table 8.4: Number And Percentage Of Households With No Car In County Donegal And The State, 2006
Total Households Total Household with no car % of Total Households with no car
Donegal Rural Areas 37004 6055 16.4%
Donegal Town Areas 12989 2994 23.1%
Total County Donegal 49993 9049 18.1%
State Rural Areas 549632 62651 11.4%
State Town Areas 912664 226126 24.8%
Total State 1462296 288777 19.7%
Source: Census 2006
IN 2006 18.1% OF HOUSEHOLDS IN COUNTY DONEGAL DID NOT HAVE A CAR. ACCESSING SERVICES AND POVERTY IN COUNTY DONEGAL 67
8.2.3 RURAL TRANSPORT PROGRAMMES1
The Fitzpatrick and Associates Report on ‘Progressing Rural Public Transport Ireland – A Discussion Paper’, published in 2006 highlighted that there were approximately 380,000 people living in rural Ireland who had unmet transport needs. 53% were older persons, younger persons, those on low incomes and people with mobility, sensory and cognitive issues, all of which are groups that are most at risk of poverty according to the Survey on Income and Living Conditions in Ireland, December 2007.
Rural Transport was first set up in Donegal in 2002 as a response to one of the main barriers identified to living in rural parts. County Donegal has three companies managed by voluntary boards of managements and these are:
» Seirbhís Iompair Tuaithe Teo (SITT) covering south west Donegal, south Donegal, and north east Donegal, » Coras Taisteal Tuaithe (CTT) MFG (formerly SiobTeo) covering An Gaeltacht Lar, Downings and the islands of Arainn Mor and Toraigh, » Inishowen Rural Transport.
As their names suggest each of these companies geographically cover the county between them. The introduction of routes and services has provided a life-line to many people living in isolation where they know the ‘bus’ will call to the house to collect them and return them back at journeys end. Another great benefit of this service is that people who have a free travel pass can use it on this service. Evidence would suggest that a number of people who have the free travel have never had an opportunity to avail of it as they have no access to public transport where they live.
When the Initiative began in 2002 the services began with a weekly or bi-weekly route travelling the countryside and feeding into local towns and villages, to allow people to access services and shops, health centres and other facilities and services that in the past were not accessible.
To date rural transport within the county is integrated with several agencies, target groups, communities groups and organisations, including the HSE, VEC, FAS, Primary Care, After Schools, Pre Schools, Family Resource Centres, CDP’s, Youth Organisations, various active age and active retirement groups, rural tourism, training and social inclusion programmes etc.
Summary Table: The Impact of Rural Transport on County Donegal
County statistics: January to July 09
• Number of Passengers carried: 48,291
• Number of services provided: 3,862
• Number of Bus Operators engaged: 27 (bus, car taxi and hackney)
• Number of drivers employed: 57
• Number of staff employed: 7
On any given Friday
• Average Kilometres travelled 4000
• Average diesel consumed 625 litres
• Average Euro spent of diesel €656.35 yearly = €34,125.00
Over 50 people are directly involved in a voluntary capacity with rural transport on the three different Boards of Managements and also many more who represent the local voluntary groups, organisations and development committees on a ground level.
1 Source Submission by Donegal Rural Transport Committee, 2009. 68 ACCESSING SERVICES AND POVERTY IN COUNTY DONEGAL
8.3 WATER, WASTE AND SANITARY SERVICES IN COUNTY DONEGAL
8.3.1 WATER
Water Connection Rates In County, Urban And Rural Areas
Public Water Mains County Donegal has one of the highest connection rates to public water mains in the State. Of the 49,993 total private households in permanent housing units in County Donegal, 74.8% are connected to public mains, which is on par with the State average. It is important to note that the percentage of households connected to public mains is above average for the Border Region at 64.6%, the Midlands at 64.9%, the Mid-West at 65.8%, the South-East at 67.7%, the South-West at 73.6% and the West at 56.5%. Only Dublin and the Mid-East had a higher percentage of housing connected to public mains. In Aggregate Urban Areas in County Donegal the largest percentage of households (92.7%) are connected to the public mains, while the comparative figure for aggregate rural areas is 68.5%.
Local Authority Group Schemes There are 11.5% of total households in County Donegal which are connected to a local authority group scheme and this is well above the State average of 8.7%. This percentage is also higher than the averages for the regional authorities of Dublin, the Mid-West, the Midlands, the South-East and the South-West. However, this is below the average for other counties in the Border Region (13.8%); for the Mid-West Region (13.8%) and the West (20.2%). Connection to local authority group schemes varies considerably in aggregate urban and aggregate rural areas in County Donegal at 3.9% and 14.1% respectively.
THERE ARE HIGHER CONNECTION RATES TO PUBLIC MAINS IN AGGREGATE URBAN AREAS AND TO PRIVATE GROUP SCHEMES IN RURAL AREAS IN COUNTY DONEGAL.
Private Group Schemes County Donegal has 2.4% (or 1191) of its households connected to private group schemes and this figure is lower than the State’s of 3.2%. This connection percentage only exceeds Dublin, the Mid-East and the South-West, and is in general considerably lower than all of the other regional authority areas. One would expect connections to private group schemes to be higher in aggregate rural areas than in aggregate urban areas, with a connection rate to private group schemes of 0.2% in urban areas and 3.1% in rural areas.
No Piped Water According to Census 2006 there are still approximately 140 households in County Donegal without piped water of any type, which is above the average for the State, 0.3% versus 0.2%. The majority of these households (137) with no piped water supply are found in aggregate rural areas.
THERE IS NO PIPED WATER IN 140 HOUSEHOLDS IN COUNTY DONEGAL.
Quality Of The Water Supply In County Donegal The Environmental Protection Agency in Ireland assesses the safety and security of drinking water supplies in Ireland. There report entitled ‘The Provision and Quality of Drinking Water in Ireland - A Report for the Years 2007-2008’ highlights that the overall compliance rate for County Donegal over the period was 95.3% which was below the national average. This report indicates that there were 3 incidents of E.coli contamination in the 43 public water supplies tested; there was 1 incident in the 13 public group water schemes tested; 12 of the 18 private group water schemes tested were contaminated ACCESSING SERVICES AND POVERTY IN COUNTY DONEGAL 69
and 8 of the 15 small private supplies tested were contaminated. County Donegal’s compliance rate had improved marginally from 2006 – 2007 periods. It is important to not that County Donegal’s overall compliance rate with regards to chemical and indicator parametric values were above National average.
Figure 8.1 Compliance With Ecoli Standard In County Donegal
Source: The Provision and Quality of Drinking Water in Ireland - A Report for the Years 2007-2008’
8.3.2 CONNECTION RATES TO SEWERAGE FACILITY SERVICES IN COUNTY, URBAN AND RURAL AREAS
County Donegal is the sixth lowest county in terms of connections to public sewerage schemes and third highest in terms of houses with an individual septic tank compared to all of the counties in the State. As expected, the majority of households in County Donegal or 56.4% have an individual septic tank compared to 28.6% for the State and 46.2% for the Border Region. Donegal ranks third highest in the State in terms of the percentage of private households in permanent housing units with individual septic tanks after Galway and Roscommon. In addition, it ranks sixth lowest in terms of the number of private households connected to a public sewerage scheme after Monaghan, Cavan, Leitrim, Roscommon and Galway.
On examination of sewerage facilities at regional level, it is evident that counties with higher percentages of the population residing in aggregate rural areas have higher percentages of households with individual septic tanks. 42.6% of households in the Border Region have individual septic tanks while this region has the higher percentage of its population (65.2%) residing in aggregate rural areas. The same is true for the West (63.8%), the Midlands (58.8%), the South-East (56.5%), and the Mid-West (54.7%) i.e. all have higher percentages of populations in aggregate rural areas. The three regional authority areas (i.e. the South-West (55.5%), Dublin (97.8%) and Mid-East (60.6%)) that have higher percentages of their population residing in aggregate urban areas have the three lower percentages of households connected to individual septic tanks.
This relationship also holds at sub county level, in that aggregate urban areas in County Donegal have 84.2% of their total households connected to public sewerage scheme, while 72.2% of the total households in aggregate rural areas have an individual septic tank. The urban areas of Ballyshannon (75.7%); Carndonagh (80.7%) and Letterkenny (83.9%) have below county average connections (84.2%) to public sewerage schemes. In addition, both of these urban areas have above average connections to individual septic tanks i.e. 20% in Ballyshannon and 13.7% in Carndonagh. 70 ACCESSING SERVICES AND POVERTY IN COUNTY DONEGAL
THERE ARE NO SEWERAGE FACILITIES IN 163 HOUSEHOLDS IN COUNTY DONEGAL.
8.3.3 WASTE AND RECYCLING IN COUNTY DONEGAL
Donegal County Council has a statutory responsibility to plan for the management of waste and have prepared a Waste Management Plan 2006 – 2010. This Plan sets out the arrangements for the management of waste arising from or situated in Donegal.
Waste Collection: In Donegal the collection of waste has been fully privatised since 1994. As the regulatory body Donegal County Council administers the permitting of waste collectors in accordance with the relevant piece of legislation. There are 9 waste collectors offering a domestic waste collection service in Donegal. These collectors are located throughout the County and in a number of areas more than one collector may operate.
Refuse collection is carried out by the kerbside collection of a wheeled bin or refuse bag. Since 2004 the kerbside collection of dry recyclables has also been introduced. In this case householders are provided with a second wheeled bin or prepaid recycling bags (available in local shops) for recycling only, this bin/bag is also collected from the kerbside. Most waste collectors now operate an alternate week collection, recycling one week, refuse the following week, others offer one recycling collection in the month etc.
Cost Of Waste Collection Householders now have the choice of ‘pay by use’ for the collection of their waste. This policy was introduced to encourage householders to reduce the volume of waste that they were producing and by doing so they could save money by not leaving a bin out for collection when not required. Pay by use contains a range of options for the householder.
» Pay by weight (not used in Donegal) in this case your waste is weighed and the householder is charged by the weight. » Pay by use, which is purchasing a bin tag for your waste collector in a local retail outlet and attaching to bin whenever a collection is required. » Pay by volume, which is having the choice of different sizes of bins but paying by way of annual charge / monthly charge.
The average cost of domestic refuse collection in a 240 litre wheeled bin (average household size) is €10 per collection. Since the introduction of kerbside recycling by waste collectors in 2004 the same systems of charging are in place but in recent years a number of waste collectors have reduced their charges for the collection of the recycling bin/bag. The average cost of kerbside recycling in a 240 litre wheeled bin (average household size) is €8.50 per collection.
Recycling Facilities & Services Provided By Donegal County Council Map 8.3 on page 71 highlights that there are 67 bring banks for the collection of glass, cans and textiles located throughout the county. In addition, there are 6 civic amenity sites, which are purpose built, fully supervised facilities that accept a wide range of materials for recycling. Each site provides a comprehensive range of recycling facilities, the majority of which are free of charge. Charges are in place for items such as paper, plastic, cardboard and a charge of €10 is applicable for a car full of materials. The six sites are located at Carndonagh, Stranorlar, Laghey, Letterkenny, Milford and Dungloe. Civic amenity sites also accept once - off bulky items of furniture from householders, this would mean if a person has for example a mattress they can bring it to a civic amenity site. There is an itemised charging system in place for this service. ACCESSING SERVICES AND POVERTY IN COUNTY DONEGAL 71
Map 8.3 Recycling Centres in County Donegal
Recyling Services In County Donegal there are:
» 8,500 compost bins, Donegal County Council has been subsidising the cost of compost bins to the householder since 2000. Compost bins can be purchased for €13 from any Public Service Centre or Town Council office. As one third of domestic refuse is organic compost bins can be used to turn this organic material into high quality compost, » 12 free household hazardous waste collections per year, Donegal County Council provide free collections of household hazardous waste at 6 different locations throughout the County twice per year, » 6 free waste electrical & electronic equipment collections, Donegal County Council in addition to collecting these materials at civic amenity sites also offer a number of free collections in areas that cannot easily access a civic amenity site, » Free battery recycling, Donegal County Council provides a collection point for the recycling of batteries at all Public Service Centres and Libraries. The new battery regulations also state that all retail outlets that sell batteries must accept them back from the public for recycling, » Free mobile phone recycling, Donegal County Council provide a collection point for the recycling of mobile phones at all Public Service Centres, » Free Ink cartridge recycling, Donegal County Council provide a collection point for the recycling of ink cartridges and toners at all Public Service Centres. 72 ACCESSING SERVICES AND POVERTY IN COUNTY DONEGAL
Recycling Services On The Islands Recycling services on the islands include:
» Waste collection services are provided on both Aranmore and Tory Island, » In 2008 kerbside recycling was also introduced to Tory Island, » Home compost bins have been delivered free of charge to Tory Island and workshops on composting have also been delivered, » Bring banks for the collection og glass and cans are also provided on both Aranmore and Tory, » Free collections of Waste Electrical and Electronic Goods have been provided on both Tory and Aranmore Islands, » Free battery collection, Donegal County Council provide a collection point for batteries on both Tory and Aranmore Island, » Free bulbs collection, Donegal County Council provide a collection point for bulbs on both Tory and Aranmore Island, » A number of clean ups have also taken place on both islands where abandoned car and bulky items have been removed.
8.4 OTHER ESSENTIAL SERVICES
8.4.1 CENTRAL HEATING SUPPLY IN COUNTY DONEGAL
In County Donegal, 90.2% or 45,075 of private households in permanent housing units have central heating. The majority of aggregate urban areas have above average percentages of their households with central heating; however Ballyshannon (83.3%), Donegal (86.2%), Bundoran (86.9%) and Carndonagh (89.6%) have below average percentages connected. In total, 4,102 private households in Donegal do not have central heating, of which 78.3% reside in aggegrate rural areas and 21.7% in aggregate urban areas.
4,102 HOUSES IN DONEGAL DO NOT HAVE CENTRAL HEATING OF WHICH 78.3% RESIDE IN AGGREGATE RURAL AREAS.
8.4.2 ACCESS TO THE INTERNET AND OWNERSHIP OF a COMPUTER
In County Donegal, 51% (or 25518) of households have a personal computer (PC) compared to 56.6% in the State. Ownership of computers is widely distributed amongst aggregate urban and rural areas. With the advent of the internet and the online shopping phenomena, online banking, booking flights, working from home etc. having internet access has become increasing important for households. However, County Donegal still lags behinds the State with 40.1% of permanent private households having access to the Internet compared to 46.7% in the State. Top speed connections or broadband internet access have become increasingly important in the cyber age yet only 9.8% have broadband access in County Donegal compared to 20.0% in the State. However, 22% of households who have a PC do not have access to Internet.
8.5 ACCESS TO QUALITY OF LIFE INFRASTRUCTURE
8.5.1 CHILDHOOD CARE AND EDUCATION
As part of the April 2009 Budget, a new scheme has been introduced to provide for a free Pre-School Year in Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE). The new scheme will be implemented by the Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, or OMCYA, and will be open to all private and voluntary pre-school services which meet the requirements of the scheme. Information obtained from the County Childcare Committee reveals that there are 80 community providers and 52 private providers of childcare in the County. In addition there are 38 parent and toddler groups and 3 life start projects. See Map 8.4 in Appendix 3. ACCESSING SERVICES AND POVERTY IN COUNTY DONEGAL 73
Table 8.5 Childcare Provision In County Donegal, 2009
Electoral Community Providers Private Providers
Donegal 13 9
Glenties 21 4
Inishowen 17 10
Letterkenny 11 21
Milford 12 5
Stranorlar 6 3
Total 80 52
Source: Donegal County Childcare Committee, 2009
8.5.2 PLAYGROUNDS AND MINI PITCHES
The importance of play to a Childs development cognitively, physically, socially and emotionally is well recognised as is the fact that children from disadvantaged communities or areas may sometimes have a limited range of opportunities to play at home due to lack of space or within the community due to lack of safe green areas etc. In the National Children’s Office ‘Ready Steady Play: A National Play Policy’ published in March 2004 the need to maximise opportunities for the range of public play opportunities was highlighted. As a result of developments under the Play and Recreational Policy in County Donegal there are 40 play grounds and 4 mini pitches within the County. A recent analysis carried out by the Research and Policy Unit highlights that all playgrounds and mini pitches are located within 10 km of all 59 towns within County Donegal. See Map 8.5 in Appendix 3.
Table 8.6 Playgrounds And Mini Pitches In County Donegal 2009
Electoral No of Playgrounds No of Mini Pitches
Donegal 8 1
Glenties 10
Inishowen 6 2
Letterkenny 6 1
Milford 6
Stranorlar 4
Total 40 4
Source: Community Culture and Enterprise, Donegal County Council, 2009
8.5.3 YOUTH SERVICES IN COUNTY DONEGAL
The Youth Work Act 2001 and National Youth Work Development Plan 2003-2007 provides a legal framework for the provision of Youth Work Programmes and Services to be organised by the Department of Education & Science, VECs and national and regional Youth Organisations. County Donegal VEC has been actively involved in this process and recently employed a Youth Officer, in line with the Youth Work Act 2001, to support, coordinate and develop youth services in County Donegal. The table below contains a breakdown of youth services by Electoral Area in County Donegal. See Map 8.6 in Appendix 3. 74 ACCESSING SERVICES AND POVERTY IN COUNTY DONEGAL
Table 8.7 Sample Of Youth Services In County Donegal 2009
Electoral Youth Services
Donegal 17
Glenties 15
Inishowen 21
Letterkenny 17
Milford 15
Stranorlar 10
Total 95
Source: Youth Services, Donegal VEC, 2009
8.5.4 COMMUNITY INFRASTRUCTURE
A lack of services can be both a consequence and cause of poverty and that this lack of services can be more exacerbated in Aggregate Rural Than In Aggregate Urban Areas. The Donegal Community Audit: a Strategic Needs Assessment, 2006 highlighted that urban areas and in particular small urban areas with a population of between 150 – 200 persons are the best served by Community Infrastructure within the county. So it would appear that community infrastructure helps in addressing the imbalance of service provision in small urban areas within the county. The table below presents the distribution of a sample of 528 pieces of community infrastructure around the county and includes community and voluntary groups, community facilities, community development projects and family resource centres in County Donegal. See Map 8.7 and Map 8.8 in Appendices.
Table 8.8 Sample Of Community Infrastructure In County Donegal 2009
Electoral Community Infrastructure
Donegal 100
Glenties 119
Inishowen 105
Letterkenny 78
Milford 84
Stranorlar 52
Total 538
Source: Community Culture and Enterprise, Donegal County Council, 2009
8.5.5 CULTURE AND LEISURE
2010 will be the ‘European year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion’ and the European Commission have highlighted in Article 3(3) the importance facilitating access to culture and leisure facilities in tackling social exclusion and poverty. The importance of Cultural Infrastructure in combating social exclusion is also identified in Donegals Cultural Forums Cultural Compass Project, 2008. This report highlights that there are 429 different pieces of Cultural Infrastructure distributed around the county including theatres, art galleries, libraries, music schools, heritage centre etc. ACCESSING SERVICES AND POVERTY IN COUNTY DONEGAL 75
Map 8.9 Access To Cultural Infrastructure In County Donegal
Source: Donegal Cultural Forums, Cultural Compass Project, 2008
Map 8.9 highlights the distribution of Cultural Infrastructure around the County. 76 ACCESSING SERVICES AND POVERTY IN COUNTY DONEGAL
Map 8.10 Access To Sporting Infrastructure In County Donegal
Source: Audit of Community Sports and Arts Facilities, 2009
Map 8.10 displays a sample of 187 sports groups, clubs and facilities around County Donegal, which are taken from the Audit of Sports, Community and Arts Facilities in County Donegal. appendices 78 APPENDIX
appendices for chapter 1 Table 1.1 Relative Deprivation Scores In County Donegal, 2006
Relative Index Scores DED 2006 2002 1996 1991
Buncrana Urban -8.8 -6.5 -1.5 -3.9
Bundoran Urban -1.7 0.1 1.9 0.0
Letterkenny Urban District -8.6 -2.2 1.1 -0.8
Ballintra -6.7 -7.9 -6.9 -4.0
Ballyshannon Rural 4.0 7.5 7.6 6.6
Ballyshannon Urban -8.8 -5.6 -4.0 -1.0
Bundoran Rural 7.4 3.7 3.5 1.3
Carrickboy 1.9 -2.2 -3.9 -1.1
Cavangarden -15.6 -14.7 -14.1 -8.6
Cliff 0.0 -0.1 -11.5 -8.9
Ballintra -15.1 -12.4 -9.5 -11.7
Binbane -17.5 -20.4 -13.7 -16.2
Bonnyglen -13.4 -6.4 -14.5 -15.6
Clogher 0.5 1.0 -5.9 -4.6
Corkermore -20.6 -17.9 -17.9 -21.1
Donegal 0.7 4.4 4.5 3.3
Dunkineely -14.8 -9.3 -10.1 -9.5
Eanymore -12.2 -9.7 -9.1 -9.7
Grousehall -24.2 -12.5 -27.1 -13.1
Haugh -1.6 -2.2 -10.6 -12.6
Inver -13.9 -11.4 -13.2 -13.0
Laghy -12.6 -8.5 -10.1 -11.3
Lough Eask -2.2 2.3 -5.2 -6.6
Pettigoe -20.9 -22.3 -20.0 -13.7
Tantallon -6.6 -4.1 -5.7 -6.5
Tawnawully -0.3 -0.2 -1.2 -6.3
Templecarn -28.0 -25.6 -19.5 -12.6
Tullynaught -3.5 -4.9 -6.9 -8.5
Ards -7.1 -7.4 -9.3 -7.0
Creenasmear -17.5 -25.5 -27.7 -27.2
Creeslough -16.9 -23.8 -16.6 -16.2
Cross Roads -23.2 -21.7 -19.2 -17.8
Doe Castle -13.0 -17.7 -15.7 -20.3
Dunfanaghy -13.0 -8.6 -13.3 -18.1
Dunlewy -25.0 -20.7 -23.0 -21.0 Source: Gamma, 2006 APPENDIX 79
Gortahork -28.7 -25.5 -27.7 -25.2
Magheraclogher -13.3 -10.8 -8.8 -8.8
Meenaclady -32.5 -29.1 -32.2 -30.2
Annagary -15.8 -14.1 -14.5 -14.6
Aran -58.3 -56.7 -49.2 -37.9
Ardara -12.5 -10.6 -5.3 -8.1
Crovehy -28.0 -32.4 -29.0 -22.2
Crowkeeragh -28.3 -23.4 -20.2 -17.0
Crownarad -9.8 1.0 0.1 -2.6
Dawros -5.3 -5.7 -9.2 -2.7
Doocharry -28.7 -32.5 -24.2 -15.6
Dungloe -13.1 -9.5 -5.3 -4.4
Fintown -17.3 -16.8 -13.6 -13.4
Glencolumbkille -13.0 -10.5 -13.7 -14.7
Glengesh -14.3 -15.6 -15.9 -12.4
Glenleheen -17.2 -30.1 -19.9 -22.4
Glenties -15.1 -13.0 -12.0 -12.7
Graffy -33.6 -41.5 -23.7 -22.6
Inishkeel -32.2 -32.2 -22.9 -22.7
Kilcar -10.5 -9.6 -11.1 -13.4
Kilgoly -27.0 -24.2 -22.3 -27.8
Killybegs -12.8 -3.9 -5.4 -3.1
Largymore -15.9 -12.7 -11.9 -11.3
Lettermacaward -28.2 -29.9 -23.8 -25.0
Maas -1.7 -9.3 -12.8 -9.4
Maghery -14.9 -17.9 -16.4 -18.9
Malinbeg -17.7 -12.7 -22.0 -19.7
Mulmosog -11.2 -10.2 -14.6 -8.7
Rutland -24.0 -22.8 -22.4 -24.7
Tieveskeelta -31.6 -23.8 -14.4 -20.4
Ardmalin -14.2 -18.1 -22.2 -21.9
Ballyliffin -16.3 -17.7 -17.6 -20.5
Birdstown -7.2 -8.8 -15.8 -18.8
Buncrana Rural -5.2 -7.2 -6.0 -14.5
Burt -11.3 -11.0 -17.6 -23.2
Carndonagh -9.8 -10.2 -8.0 -10.6
Carthage -25.3 -32.9 -29.6 -33.7
Castlecary -7.0 -12.3 -11.7 -10.0
Castleforward 0.3 -16.0 -16.0 -20.5 80 APPENDIX
Culdaff -11.8 -12.8 -13.5 -16.2
Desertegny -22.9 -19.7 -13.1 -21.0
Dunaff -26.8 -34.7 -29.6 -34.3
Fahan -5.0 -4.7 -9.4 -9.5
Glennagannon -9.3 -7.3 -15.2 -15.3
Gleneely -18.6 -18.4 -22.3 -18.6
Glentogher -18.1 -21.1 -20.3 -22.4
Greencastle -7.4 -8.9 -10.5 -8.3
Illies -15.4 -16.0 -12.6 -23.1
Inch Island -8.2 -12.1 -15.3 -21.3
Kilderry 2.4 -1.0 -12.8 -13.1
Killea -11.6 -17.1 -20.1 -22.4
Malin -10.0 -11.0 -9.1 -11.9
Mintiaghs -12.8 -17.2 -15.4 -20.5
Moville -8.3 -6.5 -7.5 -7.5
Newtown Cunningham -12.7 -8.3 -12.5 -11.5
Redcastle -5.6 -19.5 -15.8 -21.2
Straid -21.9 -24.9 -22.0 -21.5
Three Trees -7.5 -11.1 -17.4 -16.0
Turmone -16.3 -13.6 -11.4 -12.6
Whitecastle -6.3 -11.9 -18.2 -18.0
Ballymacool -0.3 4.3 1.6 0.5
Castlewray 16.5 17.2 21.2 18.4
Church Hill -17.7 -15.5 -14.0 -17.5
Corravaddy 2.4 4.0 -8.9 -9.1
Edenacarnan 4.1 0.1 -2.5 -5.9
Gartan -5.0 -8.2 -6.1 -2.6
Gortnavern 4.5 5.2 -0.9 -4.1
Killymasny -6.6 -11.8 -6.7 -10.9
Kincraigy -14.6 -19.3 -14.8 -19.2
Letterkenny Rural (Pt.) -4.1 1.2 5.0 3.3
Magheraboy -5.4 -0.5 -2.6 -6.0
Manorcunningham -17.7 -20.7 -15.7 -21.6
Seacor -2.1 -15.9 -7.2 -9.0
Templedouglas -6.0 -9.0 -7.1 -10.0
Ballyarr -2.5 -10.1 -9.5 -12.8
Carrickart -16.9 -18.0 -21.6 -19.0
Carrowkeel -11.1 -7.4 -6.1 -5.9
Cranford -11.5 -17.2 -20.8 -21.7 APPENDIX 81
Fanad North -9.4 -14.0 -11.4 -8.3
Fanad West -17.2 -25.1 -16.7 -14.2
Glen -10.6 -16.8 -22.2 -28.7
Glenalla -3.8 -11.0 -12.8 -12.2
Greenfort -14.5 -19.0 -17.8 -16.7
Killygarvan -11.6 -20.9 -17.6 -17.6
Kilmacrenan -9.0 -5.5 -6.0 -5.2
Knockalla -26.1 -25.1 -16.7 -18.3
Loughkeel -10.8 -17.7 -10.9 -12.4
Millford -4.9 -7.8 -5.1 -7.3
Rathmelton -9.8 -10.7 -14.0 -11.9
Rathmullan -4.1 -7.8 -6.7 -4.7
Rosguill -6.5 -10.2 -10.7 -8.3
Rosnakill -0.2 -3.1 -3.4 -4.7
Termon -4.9 -10.7 -10.8 -14.4
Altnapaste -11.6 -14.2 -12.9 -15.1
Castlefinn -16.6 -18.5 -19.3 -16.4
Cloghan -12.7 -11.2 -13.1 -13.8
Cloghard -15.3 -18.0 -18.0 -13.1
Clonleigh North -22.7 -21.5 -17.1 -19.8
Clonleigh South -19.6 -13.3 -14.8 -16.6
Convoy -12.2 -10.5 -13.2 -13.1
Dooish 2.1 5.2 -2.5 -6.2
Feddyglass -17.6 -17.1 -2.5 -17.5
Figart -14.4 -15.0 -14.1 -13.3
Gleneely -13.7 -11.4 -13.5 -15.8
Goland -9.1 -4.9 -10.5 -13.8
Killygordon -10.4 -11.8 -11.1 -9.8
Knock 2.9 0.8 -0.3 -3.4
Lettermore -11.6 -13.8 -16.5 -17.9
Meencargagh -15.3 -15.1 -12.7 -20.2
Raphoe -19.8 -19.4 -13.3 -17.4
St. Johnstown -22.8 -25.4 -23.0 -22.3
Stranorlar -7.1 -4.6 -2.3 -2.0
Treantaghmucklagh -13.9 -17.9 -18.9 -18.7
Urney West -12.7 -13.5 -13.6 -18.8
Donegal -10.0 -9.7 -9.8 -10.9
Borders -4.5 -4.3 -3.8 -4.5
National 2.1 3.3 3.0 2.3 82 APPENDIX map 25 APPENDIX 83
appendices for chapter 7 Table 7.1 (a) Number Of Persons Aged 15 Years And Over In Each County In The State, Classified By Age At Which Full-time Education Ceased, 2006 Not 5527 7659 7935 4365 7278 8928 8349 6673 7999 9830 2683 4670 5514 6790 5035 18343 10056 14609 12694 12738 47085 15550 17047 21720 11747 11040 stated 127140 419004 766 858 1315 6053 2336 1538 3056 4779 1420 2145 3095 4778 3585 3945 5677 1728 1859 3120 9727 3408 1567 2032 1307 1031 3647 56462 17554 148788 25 years 25 years and over and 24 472 987 615 290 627 902 662 709 328 588 750 519 449 2494 1103 1744 1157 1798 1237 6719 1518 2160 1150 3568 1247 1313 22636 years 57742 23 790 891 419 878 956 400 945 794 721 3658 1430 1505 2685 1314 1770 2590 1863 9821 2319 3182 1144 1747 5131 1940 1079 1933 31693 years 83598 22 756 734 5869 2402 1465 2657 4613 1492 2127 2822 4022 3197 4029 5625 1728 1766 2707 8071 3107 1501 1781 1471 1264 1218 3079 46017 15726 years 131246 21 905 945 7217 2916 1968 3383 5808 1935 2516 3680 4606 4073 4825 6186 2028 2347 3369 9227 3622 1830 2194 1899 1571 1545 4034 47823 18334 years 150786 20 914 865 1488 5844 2618 1826 3211 5137 1817 2148 3603 3824 3534 4594 5514 1763 2071 2941 7648 3372 1702 1947 1865 1536 3569 32721 15523 years 123595 19 6708 3273 2401 1189 3575 6106 2318 2708 4874 4584 4113 5140 6333 2447 3024 3679 8399 1071 4590 2163 2140 2344 1828 1947 3955 35656 18215 years 144780 Age At Which Education Ceased Age At Which Education 18 9842 7438 3709 7841 8683 7962 9784 3245 7552 7097 6235 5574 5219 19914 10428 18409 14958 12977 13350 50867 15988 20589 11379 24691 15063 years 12038 111349 442181 17 3657 6968 5204 2296 8085 5743 5918 9173 8072 9542 5294 7081 8646 2248 8273 4604 4480 4224 3676 9934 75830 14244 12602 11061 32340 13233 13572 years 296000 16 4173 8258 5648 2833 6485 6239 8318 5745 8508 2761 5505 5197 5685 5711 80341 13893 10747 13537 13550 10115 39153 12084 15787 10444 15230 10250 years 14049 340246 15 7294 4347 2924 1453 6276 7089 3636 3210 7775 5350 3995 6418 7918 2987 4438 6252 8314 1486 5705 2967 2658 3152 3303 2338 9668 47977 21092 years 190022 3839 9400 6604 5081 3167 9898 5983 5394 8157 6892 4840 6483 7590 2625 5394 4546 6610 5959 83324 10191 13678 31640 11699 13304 16670 12963 20414 Under 322345 15 years 15 has Total Total 33528 59640 44934 23062 73980 47453 52232 90372 84668 74967 97651 44813 57213 72854 20249 85287 40988 41415 42895 37658 98673 whose 798969 120931 107309 324069 122555 151968 ceased 2850333 full-time education education Total 68705 51895 26928 86699 54911 61695 99057 86977 51921 65693 85544 23052 98430 46791 48972 49751 44128 39779 969524 143326 124681 102511 384268 112587 148112 185624 113838 3375399 Dublin Kildare Kilkenny Laoighis Longford Louth Meath Offaly Westmeath Wexford Wicklow Clare Cork Kerry Limerick North Tipperary South Tipperary Waterford Galway Leitrim Mayo Roscommon Sligo Cavan Donegal Monaghan State Carlow 84 APPENDIX
Table 7.1 (b) Number Of Persons Aged 15 Years And Over In Each County In The State, Classified By Age At Which Full-time Education Ceased, 2006 Not 9.2% 13.4% 15.8% 13.8% 18.9% 13.6% 11.4% 13.3% 15.3% 15.9% 16.5% 14.0% 17.7% 12.8% 13.3% 14.3% 13.9% 14.9% 15.9% 13.5% 17.1% 14.5% 15.0% 13.6% 17.0% 15.2% 11.2% 14.7% stated 2.7% 3.0% 4.0% 3.4% 3.3% 4.1% 3.8% 4.2% 3.0% 4.0% 3.9% 3.2% 3.4% 3.9% 4.9% 6.4% 4.6% 3.9% 7.1% 4.3% 4.1% 5.4% 5.6% 4.5% 4.8% 5.0% 3.7% 5.2% 25 years 25 years and over and 24 1.2% 1.2% 1.5% 1.3% 1.3% 1.5% 1.4% 1.6% 1.3% 1.6% 1.4% 1.2% 1.4% 1.7% 1.8% 2.3% 1.8% 1.5% 2.8% 1.6% 1.7% 2.1% 2.1% 1.6% 1.7% 2.1% 1.3% 2.0% years 23 1.9% 1.9% 2.3% 2.0% 1.8% 2.0% 2.3% 2.0% 1.9% 2.4% 2.4% 2.0% 2.0% 2.4% 2.6% 3.4% 2.6% 2.1% 4.0% 2.4% 2.5% 3.0% 3.1% 2.5% 2.5% 3.0% 2.0% 2.9% years 22 3.4% 3.4% 3.6% 3.1% 3.3% 3.6% 3.7% 3.6% 3.1% 4.1% 3.6% 3.1% 3.3% 4.0% 4.3% 5.3% 4.6% 3.9% 5.8% 3.7% 4.1% 4.9% 4.8% 4.3% 4.3% 4.9% 3.1% 4.6% years 21 4.2% 4.4% 4.2% 4.1% 3.9% 4.6% 4.5% 4.7% 4.1% 4.9% 4.6% 4.1% 4.4% 4.9% 5.3% 6.1% 5.0% 4.5% 6.0% 4.6% 4.8% 5.7% 5.4% 5.4% 5.4% 6.0% 4.1% 5.3% years 20 4.1% 4.3% 4.0% 4.0% 4.0% 4.3% 4.2% 4.3% 3.8% 4.7% 4.4% 3.6% 4.1% 4.4% 4.7% 5.0% 4.5% 3.9% 4.1% 4.0% 4.1% 4.8% 4.5% 4.8% 4.7% 4.8% 3.6% 4.3% years 19 4.9% 5.5% 5.4% 5.4% 5.2% 4.8% 5.3% 5.3% 4.9% 5.3% 5.8% 5.3% 5.3% 5.5% 5.2% 5.5% 5.2% 5.5% 4.5% 5.0% 5.2% 5.6% 5.4% 5.7% 5.5% 5.5% 4.0% 5.1% years Age At Which Education Ceased Age At Which Education 18 years 14.8% 14.5% 17.7% 16.6% 16.1% 14.1% 18.4% 16.0% 16.5% 16.4% 15.6% 17.1% 16.6% 16.5% 17.1% 16.2% 16.8% 17.8% 13.9% 15.6% 16.6% 15.7% 15.3% 17.2% 17.8% 16.5% 12.2% 15.5% 17 9.8% 9.8% 9.7% 9.8% 8.9% 9.5% years 12.2% 10.0% 10.9% 11.2% 11.1% 12.1% 10.9% 12.4% 11.6% 11.7% 10.8% 10.8% 11.8% 11.9% 11.3% 10.0% 10.8% 11.7% 10.8% 11.8% 10.1% 10.4% 16 years 15.2% 13.3% 12.0% 15.0% 12.3% 14.5% 13.4% 13.6% 13.7% 12.4% 12.4% 14.9% 12.6% 13.8% 12.5% 10.0% 12.9% 12.8% 10.1% 14.3% 11.9% 12.1% 11.9% 12.6% 11.1% 11.5% 14.2% 11.9% 15 8.8% 7.3% 6.7% 8.6% 6.3% 8.5% 7.2% 7.3% 7.7% 6.6% 7.0% 7.8% 6.5% 7.3% 6.4% 5.5% 6.5% 6.7% 6.0% 8.6% 6.1% 6.5% 6.3% 6.6% 5.3% 6.0% 9.8% 6.7% years 9.8% 9.6% 9.5% 9.2% 7.8% 15.8% 15.4% 15.2% 15.1% 13.7% 13.4% 13.2% 13.0% 12.6% 12.0% 11.5% 11.3% 11.3% 11.1% 11.0% 11.0% 10.9% 10.8% 10.4% 10.4% 10.3% 20.7% 11.3% Under 15 years 15 has Total Total 37658 42895 85287 90372 23062 73980 40988 20249 47453 97651 33528 57213 44934 59640 14145 44813 72854 52232 84668 74967 98673 whose 151968 122555 798969 324069 107309 120931 ceased 2850333 full-time education education Total 44128 49751 98430 26928 86699 46791 23052 54911 39779 65693 51895 68705 48972 51921 85544 61695 99057 86977 102511 112587 185624 148112 969524 384268 124681 143326 113838 3375399 Donegal Monaghan Cavan Mayo Wexford Longford Louth Roscommon Leitrim Offaly Kerry Carlow South Tipperary State Laoighis Kilkenny Sligo Galway Limerick North Tipperary Dublin Waterford Westmeath Cork Wicklow Meath Clare Kildare APPENDIX 85
Table 7.3 (a) Number Of Persons Aged 15 Years And Over In Each County In The State By Highest Level Of Education Completed, 2006
Educational Attainment Level Total whose Primary full-time Third level, County Total (incl. no Lower Upper Third level, education degree or Not stated formal secondary secondary non-degree has ceased higher education)
Carlow 39779 33528 6416 7942 9820 3475 4307 1568
Dublin 969524 798969 126101 131230 210960 80983 206146 43549
Kildare 143326 120931 16578 23382 37353 14825 23661 5132
Kilkenny 68705 59640 10543 14089 17585 6500 8651 2272
Laoighis 51895 44934 8521 10284 13547 4472 5543 2567
Longford 26928 23062 5223 4942 6631 2090 2722 1454
Louth 86699 73980 15377 17234 19877 7879 10446 3167
Meath 124681 107309 16170 22735 33299 13257 18072 3776
Offaly 54911 47453 9909 11244 14046 4450 5415 2389
Westmeath 61695 52232 9666 10950 15611 5406 7986 2613
Wexford 102511 90372 19896 22765 26267 8520 10338 2586
Wicklow 99057 84668 13201 16746 24271 10191 16453 3806
Clare 86977 74967 12402 14598 23001 8330 12272 4364
Cork 384268 324069 52704 67377 93929 37048 59688 13323
Kerry 112587 97651 19364 21239 27379 10141 13853 5675
Limerick 148112 122555 22231 26765 35837 13113 19972 4637
North Tipperary 51921 44813 8193 10294 14066 4411 6067 1782
South Tipperary 65693 57213 11136 14508 17414 5369 6616 2170
Waterford 85544 72854 13180 16663 21230 7624 10805 3352
Galway 185624 151968 27673 26720 43181 16844 31493 6057
Leitrim 23052 20249 4430 4456 5604 2179 2801 779
Mayo 98430 85287 20471 17709 24849 7981 10952 3325
Roscommon 46791 40988 8737 9211 12420 4081 5210 1329
Sligo 48972 41415 7956 8369 11754 4825 6668 1843
Cavan 49751 42895 10428 9540 11302 4508 5014 2103
Donegal 113838 98673 28475 22800 22566 9310 12307 3215
Monaghan 44128 37658 9104 9619 9699 3515 4317 1404
State 3375399 2850333 514085 573411 803498 301327 527775 130237 86 APPENDIX
Table 7.3 (b) Percentage Of Persons Aged 15 Years And Over In Each County In The State By Highest Level Of Education Completed, Ranked By Primary (Including No Formal) Education, 2006
Educational Attainment Level Total whose Primary full-time Third level, County Total (incl. no Lower Upper Third level, education degree or Not stated formal secondary secondary non-degree has ceased higher education)
Donegal 113838 98673 28.9% 23.1% 22.9% 9.4% 12.5% 3.3%
Cavan 49751 42895 24.3% 22.2% 26.3% 10.5% 11.7% 4.9%
Monaghan 44128 37658 24.2% 25.5% 25.8% 9.3% 11.5% 3.7%
Mayo 98430 85287 24.0% 20.8% 29.1% 9.4% 12.8% 3.9%
Longford 26928 23062 22.6% 21.4% 28.8% 9.1% 11.8% 6.3%
Wexford 102511 90372 22.0% 25.2% 29.1% 9.4% 11.4% 2.9%
Leitrim 23052 20249 21.9% 22.0% 27.7% 10.8% 13.8% 3.8%
Roscommon 46791 40988 21.3% 22.5% 30.3% 10.0% 12.7% 3.2%
Offaly 54911 47453 20.9% 23.7% 29.6% 9.4% 11.4% 5.0%
Louth 86699 73980 20.8% 23.3% 26.9% 10.7% 14.1% 4.3%
Kerry 112587 97651 19.8% 21.7% 28.0% 10.4% 14.2% 5.8%
South Tipperary 65693 57213 19.5% 25.4% 30.4% 9.4% 11.6% 3.8%
Sligo 48972 41415 19.2% 20.2% 28.4% 11.7% 16.1% 4.5%
Carlow 39779 33528 19.1% 23.7% 29.3% 10.4% 12.8% 4.7%
Laoighis 51895 44934 19.0% 22.9% 30.1% 10.0% 12.3% 5.7%
Westmeath 61695 52232 18.5% 21.0% 29.9% 10.3% 15.3% 5.0%
North Tipperary 51921 44813 18.3% 23.0% 31.4% 9.8% 13.5% 4.0%
Galway 185624 151968 18.2% 17.6% 28.4% 11.1% 20.7% 4.0%
Limerick 148112 122555 18.1% 21.8% 29.2% 10.7% 16.3% 3.8%
Waterford 85544 72854 18.1% 22.9% 29.1% 10.5% 14.8% 4.6%
State 3375399 2850333 18.0% 20.1% 28.2% 10.6% 18.5% 4.6%
Kilkenny 68705 59640 17.7% 23.6% 29.5% 10.9% 14.5% 3.8%
Clare 86977 74967 16.5% 19.5% 30.7% 11.1% 16.4% 5.8%
Cork 384268 324069 16.3% 20.8% 29.0% 11.4% 18.4% 4.1%
Dublin 969524 798969 15.8% 16.4% 26.4% 10.1% 25.8% 5.5%
Wicklow 99057 84668 15.6% 19.8% 28.7% 12.0% 19.4% 4.5%
Meath 124681 107309 15.1% 21.2% 31.0% 12.4% 16.8% 3.5%
Kildare 143326 120931 13.7% 19.3% 30.9% 12.3% 19.6% 4.2% APPENDIX 87
appendices for chapter 8 Table 8.1 (a) Population Density 2006 (Per Sq Km) Within The State
County Area (km²) Pop 2006 Pop (km²) 2006
Dublin 921 1187176 1289.0
Louth 820 111267 135.7
Kildare 1,693 186335 110.1
Meath 2,342 162831 69.5
Limerick 2,686 184055 68.5
Cork 7,457 481295 64.5
Wicklow 2,024 126194 62.3
Waterford 1,837 107961 58.8
Carlow 896 50349 56.2
Wexford 2,352 131749 56.0
Monaghan 1,294 55997 43.3
Westmeath 1,838 79346 43.2
Kilkenny 2,061 87558 42.5
Laois 1,719 67059 39.0
Galway 6,148 231670 37.7
Offaly 2,000 70868 35.4
Clare 3,147 110950 35.3
Tipperary 4,303 149244 34.7
Sligo 1,836 60894 33.2
Cavan 1,931 64003 33.1
Longford 1,091 34391 31.5
Donegal 4,841 147264 30.4
Kerry 4,746 139835 29.5
Roscommon 2,547 58768 23.1
Mayo 5,585 123839 22.2
Leitrim 1,588 28950 18.2 88 APPENDIX
Table 8.1 (b) Population Density 2006 (Per Sq Km) By Electoral Division In County Donegal
Population Density Population Density Electoral Division Electoral Division 2006 (per sq km) 2006 (per sq km)
Templecarn 1.6 Tullynaught 14.3
Doocharry 2.0 Bonnyglen 14.8
Glenleheen 2.2 Haugh 14.8
Lough Eask 2.2 Doe Castle 15.0
Inishkeel 2.3 Lettermacaward 16.1
Graffy 2.6 Glencolumbkille 16.1
Gartan 2.9 Killymasny 16.2
Meencargagh 2.9 Laghy 16.4
Grousehall 3.1 Illies 16.4
Crowkeeragh 3.2 Maghery 16.5
Binbane 3.7 Glenalla 16.8
Seacor 4.0 Dawros 17.3
Crovehy 4.1 Fanad North 17.4
Church Hill 4.3 Glengesh 17.6
Tieveskeelta 4.9 Glenties 17.6
Altnapaste 5.2 Gleneely 18.3
Killygarvan 7.2 Eanymore 19.0
Kilgoly 7.4 Fanad West 19.3
Tawnawully 7.5 Crownarad 19.3
Dunlewy 7.5 Feddyglass 20.9
Goland 7.8 Cranford 21.4
Creenasmear 8.1 Clogher 21.5
Pettigoe 8.7 Desertegny 21.7
Cavangarden 9.1 Dunfanaghy 22.0
Cloghan 9.4 Templedouglas 22.1
Lettermore 9.5 Malin 22.4
Fintown 9.6 Rosnakill 22.5
Cliff 9.7 Three Trees 22.8
Mulmosog 9.7 Greenfort 22.9
Glen 9.7 Cross Roads 23.1
Maas 10.0 Gleneely 23.1
Termon 10.0 Greencastle 23.9
Corkermore 10.8 Ballintra 23.9
Loughkeel 11.5 Dunaff 24.4
Turmone 11.5 Treantaghmucklagh 24.8
Malinbeg 11.7 Ardmalin 25.0
Knockalla 13.3 Largymore 25.2
Ballintra 14.0 Urney West 25.9 APPENDIX 89
Table 8.1 (b) Population Density 2006 (Per Sq Km) By Electoral Division In County Donegal - contd.
Population Density Population Density Electoral Division Electoral Division 2006 (per sq km) 2006 (per sq km)
Mintiaghs 26.2 Carndonagh 48.5
Redcastle 26.9 Corravaddy 48.5
Magheraclogher 27.0 Dooish 48.6
Glentogher 27.1 Clonleigh North 48.7
Kincraigy 28.2 Killea 48.8
Ballyarr 28.5 Fahan 49.7
Ardara 28.8 Manorcunningham 50.5
Aran 29.4 Millford 50.6
Edenacarnan 29.6 Convoy 51.4
Gortahork 29.7 Tantallon 51.7
Carrickboy 29.7 Annagary 52.4
Whitecastle 30.6 St. Johnstown 52.5
Inver 30.8 Dungloe 53.0
Cloghard 31.1 Rathmelton 53.6
Carrowkeel 31.1 Castlefinn 54.5
Inch Island 31.7 Magheraboy 54.8
Creeslough 31.8 Kilderry 56.8
Ards 32.0 Newtown Cunningham 59.1
Castlecary 32.6 Knock 61.5
Meenaclady 32.6 Kilmacrenan 66.5
Burt 32.7 Killybegs 77.6
Glennagannon 32.8 Gortnavern 80.3
Culdaff 34.7 Ballymacool 86.8
Carrickart 37.7 Clonleigh South 87.8
Straid 37.9 Buncrana Rural 97.7
Castleforward 40.1 Stranorlar 100.8
Kilcar 40.1 Raphoe 104.6
Bundoran Rural 40.4 Moville 119.1
Carthage 40.5 Donegal 119.7
Ballyliffin 40.7 Castlewray 150.1
Rutland 40.7 Bundoran Urban 435.2
Rosguill 40.9 Ballyshannon Urban 562.9
Ballyshannon Rural 41.3 Buncrana Urban 732.0
Dunkineely 41.4 Letterkenny Rural (Pt.) 824.8
Birdstown 43.0 Letterkenny Urban District 1203.8
Figart 46.1
Killygordon 46.1
Rathmullan 48.2 County Donegal 30.4 90 APPENDIX
Map 8.4 Access To Childcare Facilities
Map 8.5 Access To Playgrounds And Mini Pitches APPENDIX 91
Map 8.6 Youth Infrastructure
Map 8.7 Access To Community Infrastructure Donegal County Development Board Bord Forbartha Chontae Dhún na nGall
planning for inclusion in coUNTY donegal 2009