The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (28 September 2023) released Census 2022 Profile 4 – Disability, Health and Carers. This press release highlights some of the main results for Waterford. A full list of county press releases is available.
Note also that the categories include difficulties experienced due to old age.
| Kathleen Goulding | (+353) 1 895 1413 |
|---|---|
| Tony Downes | (+353) 1 895 1319 |
| censuspublicity@cso.ie | |
| pressoffice@cso.ie |
-- ENDS --
Statistician's Comment
Commenting on the results, Sheelagh Bonham, Statistician in the Census Division, said:
“Census 2022 Profile 4 provides data and analysis on the long-lasting conditions or difficulties experienced by people, the health of the nation, and on carers providing unpaid care. In Census 2022, the two questions (Q15 and Q16) on long-lasting conditions and difficulties were revised to allow people to indicate the extent to which they experienced them which has helped to provide greater insights into the topic (See Editor’s Note below for more information).
Today’s results provide vital data to help track the key developments in these areas. Included for the first time, as a result of a new question in Census 2022, is information on smokers, including how often people smoke and how many people have given it up.”
Results for Waterford
Disability
In April 2022 in Waterford, more than 29,200 people (23% of the county’s population) reported experiencing at least one long-lasting condition or difficulty to any extent. Of these, 10,918 people (9% of the county’s population) reported experiencing at least one long-lasting condition or difficulty to a great extent or a lot. A further 18,286 people (14% of the county’s population) reported experiencing at least one long-lasting condition or difficulty to some extent or a little.
Nationally,1.1 million people (22%) reported experiencing at least one long-lasting condition or difficulty to any extent, of whom 407,342 (8%) experienced a long-lasting condition or difficulty to a great extent and 702,215 (14%) to some extent.
In Ireland overall, more females (22%) than males (21%) experienced a long-lasting condition or difficulty to any extent. In Waterford, this rate was 23% for females and 22% for males.
Health
The general health question had five response options on the census form ranging from very good, good, fair, bad to very bad. More than 104,700 people (82%) in the county stated their health was very good or good in Census 2022. This was down from 87% in Census 2016 and 88% in Census 2011. Nationally, 83% of people had good or very good health, down from 87% in 2016 and 88% in 2011.
Among the county’s females, 33,235 (52%) reported very good health, along with 53% (33,221) of males.
There were also 2,286 people who reported bad or very bad health in the county, up from 1,880 people in 2016.
Smoking
In Waterford, more than 11,600 people smoked daily in April 2022 which was 9% of the population compared with 9% nationally. Just over 5,500 people smoked occasionally (4%) while almost 25,000 people had given up smoking (19%). More than 75,600 people stated they never smoked (59%). Nationally, 60% of the population never smoked.
The number of males in the county who smoked daily was greater than the number of females (6,529 males compared with 5,135 females).
Carers
There were more than 7,800 unpaid carers in Waterford in April 2022, which was 6% of the county’s population compared with 4% in 2016. Nationally there were almost 300,000 unpaid carers, or 6% of the population, up from 4% in the previous census.
Females in the county were more likely to be carers than males, with 61% of all carers being female, a similar trend to the national figure. There were 4,726 female carers (7% of all females), compared with 3,076 male carers (5% of all males) in Waterford.
There were 110 carers in Waterford under 15 years of age providing regular unpaid care which was an increase on 2016 when there were 87 young carers.
As well as the growth in the number of carers, the period between 2016 and 2022 also saw some notable increases in the hours of unpaid care provided. The number of carers in Waterford providing 43 or more hours of unpaid help each week almost doubled, from 1,040 in 2016 to 2,270 in 2022.