The Government has been urged to take immediate action to plan for shifts in Ireland’s population.
A report from the National Economic and Social Council (NESC) has indicated that the country’s population is expected to reach its highest point within the next 30 years, reports Breaking News.
The report noted that the milestones known as ‘peak baby’ and ‘peak child’ were reached in 2010 and 2024 respectively.
NESC policy analyst Dr Gráinne Collins told Newstalk that more detailed and comprehensive data is required to effectively plan for the future, reports Breaking News.
She highlighted that there are “very poor numbers on the movements of people in and out of Ireland,” explaining that authorities often rely on people’s presence or absence in administrative datasets to estimate emigration, reports Breaking News.
“We don’t know, for instance, why women are not having as many babies as they say they want to,” Dr Collins added, reports Breaking News.
The passing of ‘peak child’ and ‘peak baby’ has been described as a clear shift from population growth towards gradual ageing, and Dr Collins said this transition will have long-term implications for society.
“In time, it will affect the number of children in the workforce, which then in turn will affect how we support our society, because there’ll be less workers supporting more population, a more older population,” Dr Collins said, reports Breaking News.
The report warned that Ireland could face a shortage of workers and reduced tax revenues to sustain an ageing population, as the number of children born each year continues to decline.
“The main issue is that we’ve passed peak baby; the most children were born in Ireland in 2010, and every year since then the number of children has been falling. We’ve now passed peak child, 2024, so that from now on there’s going to be 15,000 less children born each year in Ireland,” Dr Collins said, reports Breaking News.
The NESC concluded that by adopting strategic and flexible approaches, Ireland can stay ahead of demographic change and better prepare for the transitions that lie ahead.
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