Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
THE NUMBER OF people who say they are able to speak the Irish language has fallen to 1.77 million, according to the results of Ireland’s most recent census.
This figures represents 41.1 per cent of respondents – a slight decrease from 41.9 in 2006.
The question was broken down into two parts: individuals were asked if they were able to speak the language and, if so, the frequency with which they did so. Almost one in three (30.8 per cent) of 10 to 19 year olds said were not able to speak Irish.
More women than men identified themselves as being able to speak Irish, with 44.9 per cent of females saying they were able to speak the language compared with just 37.9 per cent of men. These result are identical to those from 2006.
Of the 1.77 million people who said they were able to speak the language:
The number of people speaking Irish on a daily basis, who are not in school, increased by 5,037 persons since 2006 from 72,148 to 77,185, according to the data.
There was an increase of 7,781 people who said they speak the language on a weekly basis, while those who spoke Irish less frequently showed the largest increase of 27,139 people.
Of the 77,185 daily Irish speakers who were not in the education system, just over one in three lived in Gaeltacht areas.
The population of all Gaeltacht areas as of April 2011 had increased by 5.2 per cent since 2006, rising from 91,862 to 96,628. Of these, 68.5 per cent said they could speak Irish (66,238).
(NOTE: Two figures regarding the percentage of daily Irish speakers outside the education system were published in the census data: 24 per cent and 35 per cent. We are currently trying to establish which is the correct figure.)
The breakdown of daily Irish speakers between the years 2006 and 2011 in specific Gaeltachts are as follows:
Cork County: 867 daily speakers to 982 daily speakers (+115)
Donegal County: 6,956 to 7,047 (+91)
Galway County: 9,654 to 10,085 (+431)
Galway City: 571 to 636 (+65)
Kerry County: 2,394 to 2,501 (+107)
Mayo County: 1,281 to 1,172 (-109)
Meath County: 336 to 31 (-22)
Waterford County: 456 to 438 (-18)
All offset against increased Bord Gais,Eircom,transport,home and health insurance
This cost of living study takes all of those into account. Unless Mercer are completely incompetent.
Are they serious? Food, booze, energy, mortgages etc, all still bloody expensive!
Food is not actually that expensive, one trip to Lidl per week fills my cupboard for under €30. That’s food, drink, lunches, dinners, the lot. As for booze, it’s a luxury (which I quite enjoy), but as a luxury the price depends on supply and demand.
And tax….
The price of a luxury depends on supply, demand and tax folks…
Would you not shop in an Irish supermarket?? I get that Lidl and Aldi are great if you have a big family and that they employ Irish staff, but most of what they sell are imports and the profits go back to their German headquarters.
Do a weekly shop in Superquinn and you’ll find it sore when you sit down for a couple of days.
Just aswell we have Dunnes and Supervalue so!
Ann, you obviously don’t realize that Lidl and Aldi actually source far more products in Ireland than many competitors such as Tesco and Dunnes. Much of the fresh produce is sourced from Irish farms, and packaged meats, sausages etc are often of Irish origin.
Not anywhere near where I live Ann, I’m afraid.
A pint is still obscenely expensive.
That’s the only thing that matters.
paying 8 euros for a pint of plain here in sweden : (
Precisely, it’s a key economic indicator.
It reflects the price of grain (which ref;ects high prices for all other foods) and the levels of taxation.
Probably reflective of the drop in wages, jobs etc while the same time the rise in taxation and charges. I bet its still as expensive live in for the people who work, live and survive in
Increases in taxes and charges would increase the cost of living, so I’m not exactly sure what you are trying to say.
Good its an overpriced dump anywya
Typical ignorant culchie comment.
What a parochial, low-life comment.
Those who gave the thumbs down were annoyed at not knowing what parochial means!
From the link:
Two main factors determine a city’s position in Mercer’s Cost of Living rankings:
the relative strength of the relevant currency against the US dollar in the 12 months between ranking (March 2011 to March 2012 in this case); and
price movements over the 12 month-period compared to those in New York City as the base.
So the weakening of the euro in relation to the dollar is a contributing factor as well.
In fact, again according to the link “Most European cities drop in the ranking” except for Geneva in Switzerland which is non Euro. Since this is a comparative study it doesn’t really show if the cost of living has fallen in Ireland, only that it has fallen in comparison to other places. This while the Dublin Chamber of Commerce are right in saying that the city is gaining competitiveness, it is not actually because of anything we have done.
So rather then the headline saying that the cost of living has fallen in Dublin, it should really say that the cost of visiting Dublin has fallen if you are coming from outside the Eurozone. Which is good in itself, but means little to those of us who do not make our living from tourist related activities.
That is exactly the point I was making earlier on which seems to have gone over the heads of some of the readers
I found temple bar very expensive on little womens xmas, me and the girls could barely pay for the taxi
It’s where all the tourists and their wallets go. What did you expect?
And where they get mugged by the jackines
This is a US ex-patriate focused survey. It uses New York and the US dollar as a base. New York is 33rd on this list. If you were a resident of New York now and had to move to Dublin, which is #72, you would find that the overall cost of living is lower in Dublin than it is in New York, whereas if you moved to Tokyo you would feel the pain.
Maybe if you are visiting. Energy, communications and insurance are robbery.
That can’t be right! I haven’t been this broke since I was 16!
Moscow is not a city in Europe -,-
it is, you know
have your say