Press Statement
14 July 2016
Increased Capital Investment Essential to Meet Demands of Growing Population
Commenting on the release of the preliminary Census 2016 population figures, Allan Shine, CEO of the Chamber said this morning, “The Census 2016 preliminary results show an increase of 3.7% in our population which confirms what previous projections had highlighted: that there will be increased pressure on state resources over the coming years to meet the increased demand for services created by a growing population. This domestic population growth is likely to be further increased due to further inward migration from overseas as our economy continues to perform strongly.”
Kildare has seen an increase of 5.6% in its population and we also have the lowest level of vacant housing in the country outside of the Dublin Local Authorities. Kildare remains one of the fastest growing counties in Ireland. Our population now stands at 222,130.
“It is crucial that Government prioritises increases in capital investment in the short term to ensure that our housing, transport and education infrastructure can cope with our growing population.
We recognise that efforts have been made to increase the capital budget allocation and that there are limited available resources, however it is only through sustained capital investment that Ireland can avoid future infrastructural bottlenecks that will hinder our economic growth.”
“While a growing population does present its challenges, if Ireland can get its capital infrastructure right, a growing population will provide some very good news for the country and the economy. The population increase will mean more consumers and increased consumer spending, more workers for a growing economy, and ultimately more tax revenue. It will also help with our growing challenge in demographic dependency ratios as we will have more future workers to support older dependants over the longer term.”
“We will continue to lobby both Local and National Government to ensure Kildare secures the maximum in budget allocations for housing, transport and education infrastructure” said Allan Shine