Villages in west and north Clare are said to be “suffering” with no means of retaining their young population.
An action plan is being sought following the publication of new data revealing two of the county’s five local electoral areas aren’t experiencing population growth.
According to the Central Statistics Office, each of Clare’s five LEAs recorded more births than deaths in 2021.
A new analysis of 2022 data meanwhile shows while Ennis, Shannon and Killaloe all experienced a natural increase, the same couldn’t be said for Kilrush and Ennistymon.
The figures show that the Kilrush area had a natural decrease rate of -1 in the year in question, making it one of just 15 areas nationwide to have more deaths than births, as well as the area with the fifth-largest natural decrease in the country.
Creegh Independent Councillor Dinny Gould says with the lack of employment opportunities in villages like his own, there’s nothing to entice young people to stay.
Turning to the Ennistymon LEA, 176 births and 173 deaths were recorded in 2022, giving it an almost neutral increase rate of 0.2.
The region is often purported to be at the coalface of construction constraints, with the lack of adequate wastewater infrastructure as well as prohibitive planning legislation creating obstacles to development in many settlements.
Ennistymon Fianna Fáil Councillor Shane Talty claims it’s especially difficult to build one-off homes along the Wild Atlantic Way.
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