Republic of Ireland’s population tops 5m for first time since 1841

The publication by the Central Statistics Office of the preliminary results of Census 2022 has been described by An Taoiseach Micheál Martin as “an important moment”.

“In particular, I welcome the news that the population has now reached over 5 million, and is at the highest recorded level in a census since 1841, showing the benefits of economic and employment growth in recent years,” he said. “I also welcome confirmation that the population has increased across every part of the country, with every county in Ireland seeing an increase in their population since 2016, as part of an overall increase of nearly 8% in that time.”

The Fianna Fáil leader said this illustrates the importance of the Government’s ‘continuing need’ to invest in public services, infrastructure, housing, health and education to keep up with this population growth.

“While the number of houses has increased, we clearly need to build more homes as quickly as we can, and the Housing for All plan will ramp-up housing output further in the next few years. The census is far more than a simple counting exercise, it gives us the information that is vital for everything from the planning and delivery of public services, to where we need to build housing, to how we arrange our electoral constituencies.”

“By participating in the census people were supporting their communities, ensuring these decisions will be made with an accurate view of each community’s needs.”

The census will provide a uniquely comprehensive account of our population and I look forward to learning more as the Central Statistics Office publishes further information from the census in the months ahead.”