Welcome to the 2014 edition of Measuring Ireland’s Progress and the third edition designed for the web and mobile devices. The progress indicators used in this report provide an overall view of the social, economic, environment, education and health situation in Ireland.  From the feedback we have received on earlier reports, users have found it useful to have a diverse set of important indicators brought together in one report. A similar approach has also been followed in other CSO publications such as Women and Men in Ireland and Regional Quality of Life in Ireland. This report is the twelfth in the Measuring Ireland’s Progress series. In June 2012 the CSO launched a new web-based report which brings together national data on 27 key short-term economic indicators in a timely and accessible way. The CSO also publishes the Macro-Imbalance Procedure Scoreboard, an annual process which the European Commission undertakes using a scoreboard of eleven headline indicators and 28 auxiliary indicators to screen for and correct any macroeconomic imbalances that may occur in Member States.

Internationally there has been an increasing level of interest in national progress indicators. A number of other EU countries have published similar reports (e.g., Spain and Germany) and the OECD publishes an annual Factbook covering more than 100 indicaors. The OECD are also actively involved in measuring well-being and progress through their OECD Better Life Initiative and their work programme on measuring progress.

Pádraig Dalton,

Director General

This web-based edition of Measuring Ireland’s Progress is organised so that fifty eight indicators are presented in five themes:

Most indicators are presented in both a national and an international context. The national context is generally in a time series format while the international context compares Ireland with other EU countries, and where available, with three EFTA countries (Iceland, Norway and Switzerland) and two countries (Macedonia and Turkey) who were official EU candidate countries in 2014. In cases where tables are not sorted by year, the ranking variable is highlighted with a darker background. The appendices describe the indicator definitions and data sources in greater detail. Where a graph and/or map is available for an indicator this will be indicated below the text for that indicator.

The following symbols are used:

:    data is not available.

c    data is confidential.

Highlights

Ireland has the second highest fertility rate in the EU, at 1.96, and just over a third of all Irish births are outside marriage, below the EU average of 40%. Ireland has the lowest divorce rate, at 0.6 per 1,000 population. Ireland has the highest proportion of young people in the EU and the second lowest proportion of old people while the Irish population is increasing at the third highest rate in the EU. The proportion of the population aged 25-34 that has completed third-level education is the fourth highest in the EU.

Ireland had the third smallest increase in inflation in the EU between 2010 and 2014 but prices remain high by EU standards. Ireland and Finland were the joint third most expensive EU states in 2014 after Denmark and Sweden with prices 22.3% above the EU average. However this represents an improvement on 2008 when price levels in Ireland were 30% above the EU average and were the second highest in the EU.

The number of sexual offences rose by 40% between 2009 and 2014 while the number of weapons and explosives offences fell by 39%. There were decreases in dangerous or negligent acts (offences mainly concerned with drink driving) which were down by 53% while public order and other social code offences decreased by 43%.

The rate of employment in Ireland was the eighth lowest in the EU in 2014 while the rate of unemployment was the eighth highest. The number of dwelling units built was just over 11,000 in 2014, (below the number built in 1970), having peaked at almost 90,000 in 2006.  GDP rose by 5.2% in 2014 in Ireland while the rate in the EU was 1.4%. The public balance deficit, at 3.9% of GDP, was the ninth largest in the EU but a big improvement on 2010 when it was 32.3%. Government debt dropped in 2014 to 107.5% of GDP, the fifth highest debt/GDP ratio in the EU, having been 120.2% in 2012. Nonetheless, Ireland had the second highest GDP per capita in the EU at 34% above the EU average in 2014.

Population: Ireland had the third highest percentage increase in population between 2004 and 2014 in the EU. Ireland had the second highest fertility rate in the EU in 2013 at 1.96; the EU average was much lower at 1.55. Just over a third (35.1%) of all Irish births in 2013 were outside marriage, below the EU average of 40%. The divorce rate in Ireland was 0.6 divorces per 1,000 population in 2013, the lowest rate in the EU. Ireland had the highest proportion of young people (0-14) in the EU, and the second lowest proportion of old people (65 and over); these combined to give Ireland a dependency ratio of 52.9, the ninth highest in the EU. (Tables 1.2, 1.5, 1.6 and 1.7)

Education: Real expenditure per student in Ireland increased over the period 2005-2014 by 3.7% at primary level and there was no change at second level. However there was a decrease of 27.5% at third level over the same time period. In 2014 nearly half (48%) of the population aged 25-34 had completed third level education, the fourth highest rate across the EU. The early school leavers rate in Ireland was lower than the EU average in 2014, when 6.9% of the Irish population aged 18-24 left school with at most lower secondary education, compared to the EU average of 11.1%. (Tables 4.1, 4.5 and 4.7)

Prices: Ireland had the third smallest increase in inflation in the EU between 2010 and 2014, (as measured by the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices). Ireland and Finland had the joint third highest prices levels in the EU in 2014 with prices 22.3% above the EU average and only Denmark and Sweden were more expensive. However this is an improvement on 2008 when price levels in Ireland were 30% above the EU average and were the second highest in the EU. (Tables 2.12 and 2.13)

Crime: The number of sexual offences rose by 40% between 2009 and 2014 while the number of weapons and explosives offences fell by 39%. The number of dangerous or negligent acts fell by 53% from 2009 to 2014 – these offences are mainly concerned with drink driving. Public order and other social code offences decreased by 43% and most of the offences in this grouping are ones of disorderly conduct. (Table 1.15)

Employment and unemployment: The employment rate (for those aged 15-64) in Ireland dropped sharply from 69.1% in 2007 to 58.8% in 2012 before rising to 63.1% in 2015. The male employment rate decreased from 77.7% in 2006 to 62.4% in 2012 but has increased since then to 68.7% in 2015. The employment rate for females dropped from 60.6% in 2007 to 55.2% in 2012 before increasing to 57.6% in 2015. The employment rate in Ireland in 2014 was the eighth lowest in the EU and the unemployment rate was the eighth highest. (Graph 2.14 and table 2.16)

Housing: The number of dwelling units built increased sharply to peak at almost 90,000 in 2006 before collapsing over the next seven years to stand at 8,300 in 2013. There was a small rise to just over 11,000 dwellings built in 2014, below the level in 1970. The average value of a housing loan rose from €200,000 in 2005 to €270,200 in 2008 before dropping by a third to €180,500 in 2014. (Graph 2.19 and table 2.20)

Economy:  The GDP growth rate was 5.2% in 2014 in Ireland while the rate in the EU was 1.4%. The public balance deficit was 3.9% of GDP, the ninth largest in the EU but a big improvement on 2010 when it was 32.3%. Government debt dropped in 2014 to 107.5% of GDP, the fifth highest debt/GDP ratio in the EU, having been 120.2% in 2012. Nonetheless, in 2014 Ireland had the second highest GDP per capita in the EU at 34% above the EU average, although, based on GNI, Ireland was the eighth highest at 16% above the EU average. Ireland’s gross fixed capital formation was 16% of GDP in 2014, the fourth lowest rate in the EU. The productivity of the Irish workforce in 2014, measured by GDP per person employed, was 44% higher than the EU average and was the second highest in the EU. As Irish employees work longer hours, the productivity per hour worked is lower, but was still 29% above the EU average and the fourth highest in the EU. (Tables 2.3, 2.4, 2.5, 2.6, 2.8 and 2.15) 

Health: Current public expenditure on health care in Ireland averaged €2,848 per person in 2014 (at constant 2013 prices), an increase of 12.2% on 2004. Life expectancy at birth in Ireland in 2013, as calculated by Eurostat, is 83.1 years for females, the same as the EU average. The male life expectancy at birth in Ireland was 79 years, 1.6 years above the EU average. A 65 year old man in Ireland can now expect to live for a further 17.7 years while a 65 year old woman can expect to live 20.6 years. Healthy life years at birth for females in Ireland was 68 years in 2013, the second highest rate in the EU and 6.5 years above the EU average. Male healthy life years at birth in Ireland in 2013 was 65.8 years, the third highest rate in the EU and 4.4 years higher than the EU average. (Tables 5.1, 5.3, 5.4 and 5.5) 

Social cohesion: The at risk of poverty rate in Ireland was 14.1% in 2013 which was below the EU rate of 16.6%. In 2014, 8% of the population in Ireland were in consistent poverty. Ireland’s net official development assistance was 0.38% of GNI in 2013, the ninth highest rate in the EU, but below the UN target of 0.7%. (Tables 1.8, 1.10 and 1.13)

Environment:  Ireland’s greenhouse gas emissions were at 107% of 1990 levels in 2012. This was 5.3% lower than the Kyoto 2008-2012 target for Ireland. Total greenhouse gas emissions in Ireland fell by nearly 15% between 2003 and 2012, from 68.5 million tonnes of CO₂ to 58.5 million tonnes. The percentage of waste recovered in Ireland rose to 54% in 2012, from just under a quarter in 2003, and 38% of waste was landfilled in 2012, a decrease on the 2003 figure of 61%.The landfill percentage varies widely in EU states, from only 0.2% in Germany, where recycling and incineration rates are high, to over 80% in Latvia and Croatia. (Tables 3.1, 3.4, 3.5, 3.6 and 3.7)

For further information contact:
Helen Cahill +353 1 4984253 or Moira Buckley +353 21 4535028

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