This article is from page 2 of the 2012-02-21 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 2 JPG
THE population of Clare is predicted to swell to almost 150,000 people over the next ten years, with numbers set to continue growing despite the current economic crisis and reports of mass emigration from rural area.
According to the preliminary results of the 2011 census, the population of the county actually grew by 5.3 per cent since the recession began. Population numbers grew from 110,950 in 2006, just before the start of the recession, to 116,885 last year.
According to a new research docu- ment released by the Mid West Regional Authority in Ennistymon last Friday, the population in Clare is projected to reach 131,321 by 2016 and 141,600 by 2022.
If these projections prove to be true the population of Clare will grow to its highest level since before the Famine over the next 10 years.
The Mid West Regional Authority Factfile, which was released at the organisation annual meeting at the Falls Hotel in Ennistymon on Friday, also set out a number of short term regional predictions with North Clare predicted to be a major growth area over the next five years.
According to the report the population of the North Clare area is set to grow by an impressive 14.36 per cent over the next five years with the local population reaching 15,675 by 2016.
West Clare has also been earmarked for major growth with the local population set to expand from 16,736 to 18,836 in 2016 – a growth of more than 12 per cent.
While the number of new people coming to live in Clare continues to more than those leaving the county, the rate of migration has slowed over the last ten years.
Between 2002 and 2006, 4,169 more people came to live in Clare than left the county to live elsewhere. However, according to preliminary figures from the 2011 census, the number of people coming to live in the county was only 986 people more than the number who left the county to live elsewhere in the five years between 2006 and 2011. Despite the overall growth gain in population numbers some part of the county have experienced a dramatic drop in numbers in recent years. In West Clare, the Loop Head Peninsula and the area around Doonbeg suffered a decrease in population as did the a large section of North Clare between Liscannor and Fanore.