Census anybody ??

AlekSmart · 19-08-2009 10:47pm #1

Looking around Dublin City and environs in recent months I am struck by the incredible fall in "activity"....

Not just the disappearance of the Polish Builderrs but a somewhat more worrying absence of everybody....where has everybody gone...?

Is it time for an Emergency Census of Population ?

It`s somewhat hookey to realize that our Government has based most of its planning on figures which may well be totally fritzed by now.....Motorways to the Hill of Tara,Railway lines to the densely populated Wesht of Ireland....what other elements of our recovery plans are going to be based upon garbage data...

nesf · 20-08-2009 3:17am

People aren't spending money, so less people are out around the shops. I imagine a good few people are a lot more concious about petrol etc than they were a year or two ago. Combine that with a flow of emigrants out of the country and one would expect visible activity to drop a lot. From what I've been hearing from retailers down in Cork, business has dropped dramatically and footfall is a fraction of what it once was, so it's visible throughout the country tbh.

AlekSmart · 20-08-2009 10:52am

From what I've been hearing from retailers down in Cork, business has dropped dramatically and footfall is a fraction of what it once was, so it's visible throughout the country tbh.

Agreed,nesf...but my gut is telling me that significant numbers of people have gone...emigrated,economically migrated or whatever and an equally significant number of these are indigenous Irish....That`s what I FEEL.

I fully accept this is gut-feeling stuff and that`s why I think we need updated ACCURATE stats NOW,simply to allow for some kind of realistic recovery programme to be drafted.

There is little or no sense in NAMA valuing assets "going-forward" if the projected customer base for those assets simply does not exist...and the same can be said for every facet of our society..?

P. Breathnach · 20-08-2009 11:05am

A census takes a long time to conduct and costs a good deal. It would tell us only part of the story, because much of the reduction in economic activity is attributable to the behaviour of people who are still here.

The CSO has methods for making moderately good estimates of population between census years. Most of our emigration and immigration passes through airports and seaports, and passenger numbers are recorded. The difference between departures and arrivals is a good indicator of migration.

spank_inferno · 20-08-2009 12:15pm

Agreed, another census wouldnt be necessary.

Besides participation amongst immigrant communities is traditionaly low in censuses.

And most importantly, what difference does it make?
A census is a great tool for assisting with planning the development of a nation..... however has anyone any indication that FF "Plan" anything? They seem to make it up as they go along.

djpbarry · 20-08-2009 2:48pm

P. Breathnach wrote: »

The CSO has methods for making moderately good estimates of population between census years.

Yep; their latest “Population & Migration Estimate” is due for release before the end of this month.

Gruffalo · 21-08-2009 8:05pm

The Government only have one plan at the moment and that is to cut everything that they can get away with. I dont think that a census would help this.

Dob74 · 23-08-2009 2:32am

Traffic has dropped off since christmas, people are living a cheaper existance.
The eastern europeans are better off hear than there own countries. They can live hear and work now and again for more money than they would be on at home.
Unemployment will be well over 500k by the end of the year.

mikemac · 23-08-2009 6:18am

My bus route has less people using it then 12 months ago.
Even at peak times it's never an issue getting a seat. Before you'd have people standing everywhere.
I still wish they hadn't cut the route frequency though

I'd say this has been repeated across many bus routes

AlekSmart · 23-08-2009 11:13am

I still wish they hadn't cut the route frequency though

I'd say this has been repeated across many bus routes

Sadly mikemac,you are on the money here.

Current Public Transport Policy appears to be driven(!) by the need to shore up Government Toll Facility PPP contracts rather than any true committment to sustainability.

This is why,Bus Eíreann,for example are contemplating susch a wide-ranging amount of service-cutbacks and Iarnrod Eíreann are now also entering a similar phase of planning.

So too with Dublin Bus,where one of the most obvious aspects of the current "Survival Plan" is just how little innovative marketing or Special Fare offers have been undertaken.

The much trumpeted City Centre "Special Fare" does not count as it`s merely a reduction in cost of a long established readily available one.

It`s hardly surprising that the area of Cash Fares remains TOTALLY within the remit of the Department of Transport which clings grimly to it`s power.

The most obvious public manifestation of this is the lack of NEW contactless ticketing product (Smartcard enabled) due to Bus Atha Cliath being required to introduce it`s Contactless cards on a replacement basis only.ie,replacing a magnetic stripe card with a contactless one without expanding the range on offer.

This strategy is due to the Department of Transport`s interpretation of supposed EU requirements on "Dominant Operator " positioning which has for some years now witnessed the Department and it`s Ministers sitting transfixed in the glare of the EU`s headlights.......the result has been stagnation and declining passenger numbers at a time when Bus Atha Cliath was being re-equipped with one of the most modern Bus Fleets in Europe !!........Public Transport Policy.....Irish Style :eek:

pablomakaveli · 24-08-2009 1:00pm

One of the polish girls i work with was plannig to move back to Poland but has put it off as she said the job situationthere is very bad.

Very few of the eastern europeans i work with have left for home over the last year.

If the situation really is bad in eastern europe i doubt many will be leaving as long as they have jobs here.

djpbarry · 24-08-2009 1:19pm

pablomakaveli wrote: »

If the situation really is bad in eastern europe i doubt many will be leaving as long as they have jobs here.

Census anybody ??

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