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Introduction & Socio-economic Context
9
Households and Consumption
Between 2001 and 2010 the
number of private households
grew by 343,200 or 26.3%. In that
period the average size of private
households fell from 2.95 persons
to 2.71, continuing a long-term
downward trend (CSO, 2012)
(Table 1.2). This trend of an
increasing number of households
and smaller household size has a
significant impact on consumption
patterns, including the demand
for energy and household goods.
It is estimated that one-person
households consume, on average,
38% more products, generate
42% more packaging waste
and use 55% more electricity
per person than four-person
households (EEA, 2010).
In the 10 years between 1996
and 2006 there was a remarkable
increase in the number of house
completions in Ireland, from an
annual total of 33,000 in 1996
to a peak of over 93,000 in 2006.
The collapse of the construction
sector since then is clear from
Figure 1.3, with only 10,500 houses
completed in 2011 (DECLG, 2011b).
Table 1.1
Population by Province and Change in Population 2006–2011 (Source: CSO)
Province
Persons 2006
(million)
Persons 2011
(million)
Actual Change
2006–2011
% Change
2006–2011
Leinster
2.29
2.50
209,691
9.1
Munster
1.17
1.25
72,748
6.2
Connacht
0.50
0.54
38,426
7.6
Ulster (Part)
0.27
0.29
27,539
10.3
TOTAL
4.24
4.58
348,404
8.2
Figure 1.2
EU: Population Change, 2000–2010 (Source: CSO)
-10% -5% 0% 5% 10% 15% 20%
Ireland
Cyprus
Luxembourg
Spain
Malta
France
Italy
Belgium
United Kingdom
Sweden
Austria
Netherlands
Portugal
Denmark
EU
Greece
Finland
Slovenia
Czech Republic
Slovakia
Germany
Poland
Hungary
Estonia
Romania
Lithuania
Latvia
Bulgaria
Iceland
Switzerland
Turkey
Norway
Macedonia
Croatia