TRUTZ HAASE

Social & Economic Consultant

Key Profile for South County Dublin

This County Profile draws out the significant trends from a vast amount of available data. It is kept deliberately short, such as to draw attention to only the most important of observations. In some instances, the profile refers to a wider set of data spanning the four census waves from 1991 to 2006. For space reasons, this data could not be fully included in the GAMMA baseline reports, but is included in digital format on the disk accompanying the report.

Administrative Arrangements

There are two Partnership companies operating within South County Dublin which, together, cover the whole county. The County Childcare Committee area covers the entire county.

There are four Family Resource Centres operating in South County Dublin:

  • Ballyboden FRC is located in the ED of Edmondstown and services the immediate surrounding area.
  • Quarryvale Resource Centre is situated in the ED of Palmerston West, near the Liffey Valley Shopping centre, and services the Ronanstown and Palmerstown areas.
  • Killinarden FRC is located in the ED of Tallaght-Killinardan and services the South-Western part of Tallaght, comprising the Killinarden, Jobstown and Springfield areas.
  • St. Kevin’s FRC is located in the ED of Tallaght-Kilnamanagh and services the North-Eastern part of Tallaght, comprising Kilnamanagh and Tymon North.

Absolute and Relative Deprivation

  • Overall, the Dublin Region is the second most affluent region of Ireland, but South County Dublin is the second most disadvantaged local authority area within the region, making it the tenth most affluent county in Ireland as a whole. The relative position of South County Dublin has marginally improved over the past fifteen years from a score of 3.1 in 1991 to 3.4 in 2006, but registered a decline since 2002 when it reached its highest score of 7.0.
  • As is the case in any of the major urban areas, there are considerable difference in the relative affluence and deprivation between various parts of the county. The most affluent part is the Rathfarnham, Firhouse and Templeogue area in the East of the county. The most disadvantaged parts are the original partnership areas of Clondalkin and Tallaght.
  • Following the redefinition of partnership areas in what has come to be known as the ‘Cohesion Process’, the Clondalkin Partnership area has an overall relative deprivation score of 2.2 and the Tallaght Partnership area of 4.2. It needs, however, to be born in mind that these aggregate scores are no longer indicative of the core disadvantaged areas that are contained within each of the partnership areas as these are grouped together with a large number of more affluent EDs to cover the whole county.
  • The most disadvantaged EDs in South County Dublin are Tallaght-Killinarden (-26.6), Clondalkin-Rowlagh (-26.1) and Tallaght-Avonbeg (-22.7), all of which are in the ‘very disadvantaged’ category. This is followed by Tallaght-Fettercairn (-17.5), Clondalkin-Cappaghmore (-15.6), Clondalkin-Moorfield (-14.9), Terenure-St. James (-11.5), Tallaght-Tymon (-10.3) and Tallaght-Springfield (-10.1), which are in the ‘disadvantaged’ category. All other EDs are at the most in the ‘marginally below average’ category.
  • The Ballyboden FRC catchment area has an overall index score of 5.9, which is slightly above the national average.
  • The Quarryvale Resource Centre catchment area has an index score of –11.2, which characterises the area as an overall disadvantaged area.
  • The Killinarden FRC catchment area has an index score of –6.8, which is in the marginally below average category of the affluence/deprivation spectrum.
  • The St. Kevin’s FRC catchment area has an index score of –3.2, which is also marginally below the national average.

Population

  • Ireland has experienced a population growth of 20.3% over the past fifteen years and the Dublin Region has grown by 15.8%. South County Dublin’s population has grown by a rate of 18.3% over the same period.
  • Whilst the county population has grown at a rate close to the national and regional rates, this masks very different growth experiences between the two Partnership areas. At 7.2 per cent, the Tallaght Partnership area has experienced a growth well below those averages, whilst the Clondalkin Partnership area (42.4%) has grown at more than twice the national rate of growth.
  • The fastest growing ED within South County Dublin is Lucan-Esker, which population has grown from 3,099 in 1991 to 25,807 in 2006, a staggering 733.4 per cent. The next fastest growing EDs are Firhouse-Ballycullen (148.3%), Saggart (98.3%), Tallaght-Jobstown (98.1%) and Firhouse Village (97.6%), all of which grew to about twice their 1991 population.
  • The EDs characterised by the greatest population decline are Terenure-St. James (-33.1%), Tallaght-Millbrook (-29.5%), Tallaght-Avonbeg (-29.2%), Clondalkin-Rowlagh (-24.9%) and Rathfarnham-Ballyroan (-23.6%).
  • The Ballyboden FRC catchment area comprises 1,800 households, which is a comparatively narrowly defined catchment area.
  • The catchment area of Quarryvale Resource Centre counts 6,300 households in total.
  • The Killinarden FRC catchment area comprises more than 10,600 households, making it the largest of all FRC catchment areas throughout Ireland.
  • The St. Kevin’s FRC catchment area accounts for about 4,400 households.

Demographic Characteristics

  • There has been a continuous decline in the age dependency rate (the proportion of population under 15 years of age or over 64 as part of the total population) throughout Ireland over the past 15 years, from 38.1% in 1991 to 31.4% in 2006. An even greater decline applies to South County Dublin (36.8% to 28.9%), making South County Dublin the county with the fourth lowest age dependency rate.
  • There is practically no difference between the two Partnership areas. Clondalkin has an age dependency ratio of 28.7% and the Tallaght Partnership area one of 29.1%.
  • At ED level, there exist some significant differences in the demographic profiles, with age dependency rates exceeding forty per cent in 3 EDs, Terenure-Greentrees (43.8%), Terenure-St. James (42.4%), and Rathfarnham-Ballyroan A (41.0%). This contrasts with age dependency rates of about half those rates in Tallaght-Belgard (20.1%), Tallaght-Kilnamanagh (21.6%) and Tallaght-Kingswood (21.9%).
  • The proportion of lone parents (as a proportion of all households with dependent children) in Ireland has exactly doubled over the past 15 years, growing from 10.7% in 1991 to 21.3% nationally in 2006. There are marked differences between urban and rural areas, and lone parent rates in the major cities are again up to twice the national average. South County Dublin had a rate of 27.6% in 2006; i.e. more than one-quarter of families with dependent children are headed by a single parent. This is the sixth highest proportion for any county.
  • Looking at the level of Partnership areas, there is again little difference between the two areas. In Clondalkin the lone parent rate is 28.0 per cent and in the Tallaght Partnership area 27.6 per cent.
  • There are vast differences with regard to individual areas within the county and single parent families tend to be concentrated in those EDs which also have significant levels of local authority housing within them. Lone parent rates exceed fifty per cent in four EDs, Clondalkin-Cappaghmore (57.7%), Tallagh-Killinarden (55.6%), Clondalkin-Rowlagh (54.6%) and Tallaght-Fettercairn (53.3%). These are extraordinary high proportions as they are synonymous with saying that in these areas the dominant family type is that of a single parent family.
  • The Ballyboden FRC catchment area has experienced a high population growth (16.3%) over the past decade, in line with the experience for Ireland as a whole (16.9%). The age dependency ratio (29.8%) is marginally below the national average (31.4%), reflecting the influx of young families in this area. The proportion of lone parent households accounts for 24.1%, which is slightly above the national average (21.3%).
  • Quarryvale Resource Centre is situated in an area, which has experienced a moderate population decline (-11.1%) over the last ten years. The age dependency ratio is at 29.3% marginally below the national average, but the proportion of lone parents (40.8%) is almost twice the national average.
  • The population of the Killinarden FRC catchment area has grown by 16.6% during the past decade, in line with the national average. The age dependency ratio at 28.2% is marginally below the national ratio, but the proportion of lone parents (41.0%) is almost twice the national average.
  • St. Kevin’s FRC is located in an area, which has experienced a substantial population decline (-14.7%) over the past decade. The age dependency ratio (22.9%) is well below the national average. Lone parent households account for 31.1% in this catchment area.

Education

  • There has been a continuous improvement in the level of education amongst adults over the past 15 years throughout Ireland. In 1991, 36.7% of the adult population had primary education only. This dropped to half that level (18.9%) in 2006, thus indicating a strong cohort effect. The rate for South County Dublin has fallen from 33.7% in 1991 to 16.5% in 2006. This is a reduction of 17.2 percentage points (compared to -17.8 percentage points nationally), resulting in 2006 levels remaining more than two percentage points below those applying for Ireland as a whole.
  • There is practically no difference in the prevalence of low education between the two Partnership areas. The rate is 16.3 per cent in Clondalkin and 16.6 per cent in the Tallaght Partnership area.
  • At local level, the EDs with the highest proportions of the adult population with primary education only are: Tallaght-Avonbeg (39.2%), Terenure-St.James (38.4%), Clondalkin-Rowlagh (35.7%) and Tallaght-Killinarden (35.5%).
  • The reverse applies with regard to third level education, which has more than doubled over the past 15 years. In 1991, 13.0% of the national adult population had completed third level education. This grew to 30.5% in 2006. The proportion of South County Dublin’s population with third level education has grown from 12.6% to 30.8%, a growth slightly above that which has occurred nationally (18.2% compared to 17.4%).
  • Again, there is no difference between the two Partnership areas with Clondalkin at 29.6 per cent and Tallaght at 31.5 per cent.
  • At ED level, and again mirroring the situation with regard to the higher incidences of low levels of education, there are particularly low shares of population with third level education in Tallaght-Killinarden (6.6%), Clondalkin-Rowlagh (7.1%) and Tallaght-Avonbeg (8.4%), each of which are below the 10 per cent level.
  • In the Ballyboden FRC catchment area, the proportion with primary education only is at 15.1% slightly below the national average (18.9%), whilst third-level education accounts for 37.2% compared to 30.5% nationally.
  • The proportion of adults with primary education only accounts for 27.3% in the Quarryvale Resource Centre area, nearly 10 percentage points above the national rate. Conversely, third-level education accounts for only 16.0%, just half the national average (30.5%).
  • In the Killinarden FRC catchment area the proportion of adults with primary education only accounts for 20.7%, just marginally above the national average. However, third-level education accounts for only 20.3%, some ten percentage points below the nationally prevailing proportion.
  • Similarly, in the St. Kevin’s FRC catchment area, the proportion of adults with primary education only accounts for 22.0% and the proportion with third-level education for 18.1%.

Social Class Composition

  • The changes in social class composition experienced throughout Ireland over the past 15 years largely parallel those in educational achievement, with a gradual increase in the number of professionals and an even greater decline in the proportion of semi- and unskilled manual workers. At the national level, the proportion of professionals in all classes rose from 25.2% in 1991 to 32.9% in 2006, whilst the proportion of the semi- and unskilled classes declined from 28.2% to 18.6% over the same period.
  • In South County Dublin, the proportion in the professional classes (32.0%) and the proportion in the lower skilled professions (16.3%) are in the middle field of class composition amongst all counties. There is a slight difference at Partnership area level with Tallaght having a slightly higher rate of 34.1 per cent against Clondalkin (28.7%).
  • At local level, the highest class composition is found in Rathfarnham Village (62.6% professionals, 4.1% semi- and unskilled manual classes) and Templeogue Village (61.5%, 4.3%). This strongly contrasts with the lowest class composition in Tallaght-Killinarden (9.3%, 37.8%), Tallaght-Fettercairn (9.9%, 33.6%), Clondalkin-Rowlagh (10.6%, 34.8%), Tallagh-Avonbeg (12.3%, 29.6%) and Clondalkin-Cappaghmore (14.1%, 27.0%).
  • In terms of its social class composition, the Ballyboden FRC catchment is slightly above the national average, with professionals accounting for 39.5% (compared to 32.9% nationally) and low skilled workers accounting for 14.5%, compared to 18.6% nationally.
  • The Quarryvale Resource Centre catchment area has a significantly lower share of professionals (19.1%), and a higher-than-average share of low-skilled workers at 24.0%.
  • Similarly, the Killinarden FRC catchment area has a below average share of professionals (18.0%), and a higher-than-average share of low-skilled workers at 24.7%.
  • The St. Kevin’s FRC catchment area has a share of professionals of 21.7%, and a marginally higher-than-average share of low-skilled workers at 19.8%.

Unemployment

  • Whilst all of the other socio-economic indicators are less sensitive to the time that has passed since the 2006 Census, unemployment has more than doubled since, and the 2006 data has to be treated with considerable care. Nevertheless, when used on a strictly comparative basis with respect to the 1991 to 2006 period, the relativities remain of significance and are likely to have prevailed into present-day.
  • Unemployment rates throughout Ireland have broadly halved over the past 15 years. Female unemployment rates have tended to be slightly below male unemployment rates, but have not fallen at the same pace due to the increasing levels of female labour force participation (i.e. reflecting the trend of increased female participation in the labour force with more women registering their unemployed status). The male unemployment rate fell from 18.4% in 1991 to 8.8% in 2006, whilst the female unemployment rate fell from 14.1% to 8.1%.
  • Male unemployment rates for South County Dublin have fallen at a similar rate than the nationally prevailing ones between 1991 and 2006 (-9.2% male / -5.6% female compared to -9.6% male / -6.0% female nationally), and rates also remained similar to the national rates in 2006 at 9.1% male unemployment and 8.8% female unemployment.
  • There are no significant differences in unemployment rates between the two Partnership areas, but unemployment is marginally higher in Clondalkin (9.9%, 10.1%) than in Tallaght (8.6%, 18.0%).
  • Unemployment rates in individual EDs reach levels well above those prevailing county wide, and are highest in Tallaght-Killinarden (23.2%, 21.5%) and Tallaght-Fettercairn (22.8%, 20.7%), followed by Clondalkin-Rowlagh (23.6%, 17.8%), Clondalkin-Cappaghmore (20.9%, 18.4%) and Clondalkin-Dunawley (17.4%, 16.9%).
  • The Ballyboden FRC catchment area had a male unemployment rate marginally above and a female rate identical to the national average.
  • In contrast, the Quarryvale Resource Centre area experienced male unemployment levels almost twice the nationally prevailing rates and female unemployment rates at about one-and-a-half times the national average.
  • The Killinarden FRC catchment area had male and female unemployment rates at about one-and-a-half times the national average.
  • Unemployment rates in the St. Kevin’s FRC catchment area closely resembled national unemployment rates.

Housing

  • There has been a 2.3 percentage point decline in the proportion of local authority housing in Ireland over the past 15 years, from 9.8% in 1991 to 7.5% in 2006. The proportion in the Dublin Region has declined by 4.6 percentage points, from 14.1% to 9.5%. South County Dublin has seen a decline of 6.5 percentage points, albeit from an even higher base (16.1% to 9.6%). South County Dublin has the sixth highest level of local authority rented housing for any county, but is exceeded by Longford (11.3%), Dublin City (12.5%), Limerick City (13.2%), Waterford City (13.9%) and Cork City (15.8%).
  • At ED level, the highest concentrations of local authority housing are found in Tallaght-Fettercairn (55.5%), Tallaght-Killinarden (54.3%), Clondalkin-Cappaghmore (49.3%), Clondalkin-Rowlagh (37.2%) and Tallaght-Jobstown (28.2%).
  • The Ballyboden FRC catchment area has a significant share in rented local authority housing (18.1%) more than twice the nationally prevailing rate (7.5%).
  • Similarly, the Quarryvale Resource Centre catchment area has a share of 19.1% local authority housing.
  • Local authority housing in the Killinarden FRC catchment area accounts for 21.6%, the highest rate amongst the FRC catchments in South County Dublin.
  • St. Kevin’s FRC catchment area has a comparatively lower share in local authority housing (9.9%), albeit still marginally above the national rate.

New Measures of Deprivation in the Republic of Ireland

An Inter-temporal and Spatial Analysis of data from the
Census of Population, 1991, 1996, 2002 and 2006
Trutz Haase & Jonathan Pratschke, February 2008

This section provides a brief summary of the new Measures of Deprivation for the Republic of Ireland, drawing on recent data from the 2006 Census of Population. Building on the innovative and powerful approach to the construction of deprivation indices developed in our previous research (Haase & Pratschke, 2005), the new Measures of Deprivation provide an up-to-date analysis of the changes in deprivation that have occurred in each local area over the past fifteen years[1].

How is the new deprivation index constructed?

Most deprivation indices are based on a factor analytical approach which reduces a larger number of indicator variables to a smaller number of underlying dimensions or factors. This approach is taken a step further in the Measures of Deprivation developed by Haase & Pratschke: rather than allowing the definition of the underlying dimensions of deprivation to be determined by data-driven techniques, the authors develop a priorconceptualisation of these dimensions. Based on earlier deprivation indices for Ireland, as well as analyses from other countries, three dimensions of affluence/disadvantage are identified: Demographic Profile,Social Class Composition and Labour Market Situation.

Demographic Profile is first and foremost a measure of rural affluence/deprivation. Whilst long-term adverse labour market conditions tend to manifest themselves in urban areas in the form of unemployment blackspots, in rural areas, by contrast, the result is typically agricultural underemployment and/or emigration. Emigration from deprived rural areas is also, and increasingly, the result of a mismatch between education and skill levels, on the one hand, and available job opportunities, on the other. Emigration is socially selective, being concentrated amongst core working-age cohorts and those with further education, leaving the communities concerned with a disproportionate concentration of economically-dependent individuals as well as those with lower levels of education. Sustained emigration leads to an erosion of the local labour force, a decreased attractiveness for commercial and industrial investment and, ultimately, a decline in the availability of services.