asked the Taoiseach if he is aware, relative to his reply to a question on 25th June, 1958, that in 1901 the area of Ballybunion, County Kerry, was 376 acres and that in 1956 (according to the census return) the area had increased to 4,732 acres; and if he will explain the reason for this change.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Area and Population of Ballybunion.
asked the Taoiseach if he is aware, relative to his reply to a question of 25th June, 1958, that in the census of 1956 the following townlands (not included in the 1951 census) viz., Doon West, Drummin, part of Moohane and Killehenny, were added; and if he will state the reasons for the change.
asked the Taoiseach if he is aware, relative to his reply to a question of 25th June, 1958, that the actual population of Ballybunion village is under 500 compared with the 1956 census return of 1,191; and if he will arrange that in future censuses the return of population will be confined to the village proper.
asked the Taoiseach if there are any other instances in the State where, as in the case of Ballybunion, contiguous townlands have been added to villages when computing the census of population; and if he will give the names of the villages concerned, and the figures of (a) the actual and (b) the expanded populations in each instance.
I propose with the permission of the Ceann Comhairle to take Questions Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 4 together. As the reply is excessively long and detailed I would suggest, with the permission of the Ceann Comhairle and with the agreement of the Deputy, that it be circulated in the Official Report.
Perhaps we would like to hear it?
I am prepared to read it.
May we hear it, Sir?
Tá go maith. I have no desire to stop the Parliamentary Secretary from reading it.
At the outset, I should perhaps give a brief history of the procedure adopted in the enumeration in the census of population of towns without legally defined boundaries.
In the censuses of 1926 and 1936 the definition of a census town (i.e. a town without legally defined boundaries) was simply "a cluster of 20 or more houses". With the increased building activity in recent years, involving the transfer of town-dwellers to blocks of new houses adjacent to the old cluster but not necessarily contiguous to it, it became necessary to modify the original definition to include the newly built clusters with the original census town, provided that the residents were still considered to take part in the community life of that town. This principle was followed at the 1946 and 1951 censuses. Even before the introduction of the amended definition, the delimitation of a census town was rather imprecise since no direction could be given as to the maximum distance between houses to be regarded as forming a cluster. The definition placed still more reliance upon the judgment of individual enumerators with the result that the application of the principle varied from district to district. For these reasons, it was decided to hold a special investigation in conjunction with the census of population 1956, with the objects of (a) determining the extent of the suburban areas or environs of towns with legally defined boundaries and (b) establishing, on a uniform basis, boundaries for census towns. The various boundaries were drawn on ordnance survey maps after consultation with local authority officials whose considerable local knowledge was of the greatest value in the work. Whilst in previous censuses of population the census town was defined as a cluster of 20 houses or more, on the occasion of the 1956 census it was decided to vary this definition to the extent of including only occupied houses in determining the lower limit of size.
In the case of Ballybunion town, the boundaries in 1956 census were drawn by the local authority officials. These boundaries were agreed by the enumerator and subsequently the town was visited by an official of the Central Statistics Office, and the boundaries as drawn by the local authority officials were confirmed as giving a fair representation of the position obtaining.
In the 1956 census, the town comprised the following areas:—
|
Townland |
|
|
Doon East |
(part of) |
|
,, West |
(part of) |
|
Gortnaskeha |
(part of) |
|
Killehenny |
(part of) |
|
Moohane |
(part of) |
|
Ballybunion |
(all) |
|
Drummin |
(all) |
In the enumeration of Ballybunion town in the census of population, 1951, the following areas were included:—
|
Ballybunion townland |
(all) |
|
Killehenny ,, |
(part of) |
|
Doon West,, |
(part of) |
|
Dromin,, |
(part of) |
Any changes made in the 1956 census were done in consequence of the general procedure adopted in the enumeration of towns, and to which I have already referred.
The acreage figure of 376 acres quoted by the Deputy in respect of 1901 refers to the townland of Ballybunion, while the figure of 4,732 acres quoted refers to the district electoral division of Killehenny (of which the townland of Ballybunion forms a part). It has been confirmed from official records that there has been no change in the acreage figures of these administrative areas as published in 1901 compared with those obtaining in the census of 1956.
In the census of 1956, there were 799 towns without legally defined boundaries. In the report of the 1956 census there is shown in Table 11 the revised 1951 census figures of towns in respect of which alterations in boundaries had been made. In the case of 527 census towns the revised 1951 population figures showed an increase on the original figure. The name of each individual town thus affected together with the changes in population consequent on the alteration in boundaries can be obtained by a comparison with the relative figures published in Volume I (Table 11) of the 1951 census. The extraction of information in the detailed form required by the Deputy would necessitate a considerable expenditure of official time, which in present circumstances, I would not feel justified in authorising.
The statement which follows sets out the particulars for each county of the number of towns affected by the change in boundaries.
The purpose of the compilation of town population in the census of population is to show in a statistical form the various agglomerations of population within the State. The practice adopted in the census of 1956 has standardised the procedure and it is proposed to adhere to it in future censuses.
CENSUS TOWNS, i.e., TOWNS WITHOUT LEGALLY DEFINED BOUNDARIES INCLUDING ENVIRONS AND SUBURBS FORMING A CLUSTER OF 20 OR MORE OCCUPIED HOUSES.
|
County |
Number of towns in which the revised 1951 population is greater than the original population |
Number of towns in which there was no change between the 1951 original population and the revised population |
Number of towns in which the 1951 original population is greater than the revised population |
Number of new census towns created as a result of town survey |
Number of towns which were enumerated as census towns in 1951 but which did not qualify as such in 1956 |
Remarks |
|
Carlow |
11 |
— |
1 |
4 |
— |
4 towns amalgamated to form 2 |
|
Dublin |
18 |
4 |
2 |
18 |
1 |
1 town included in Co. Borough7 towns included in suburbs7 towns amalgamated to form 3 |
|
Kildare |
14 |
5 |
— |
5 |
3 |
2 towns amalgamated to form 1 |
|
Kilkenny |
25 |
2 |
— |
4 |
2 |
6 towns amalgamated to form 3 |
|
Laoighis |
14 |
— |
— |
4 |
2 |
1 town included in environs |
|
Longford |
8 |
— |
— |
3 |
— |
|
|
Louth |
12 |
1 |
— |
2 |
— |
1 town included in environs2 towns amalgamated to form 1 |
|
Meath |
15 |
4 |
— |
10 |
— |
2 towns amalgamated to form 1 |
|
Offaly |
15 |
1 |
— |
5 |
— |
2 towns included in environs |
|
Westmeath |
17 |
2 |
— |
4 |
— |
2 towns amalgamated to form 1 |
|
Wexford |
20 |
2 |
1 |
14 |
— |
2 towns amalgamated to form 11 town included in environs |
|
Wicklow |
18 |
3 |
— |
4 |
3 |
2 towns included in environs10 towns amalgamated to form 3 |
|
Clare |
24 |
8 |
— |
5 |
2 |
4 towns amalgamated to form 2 |
|
Cork |
79 |
7 |
2 |
40 |
2 |
6 towns amalgamated to form 37 towns included in environs |
|
Kerry |
22 |
10 |
2 |
9 |
4 |
2 towns amalgamated to form 1 |
|
Limerick |
36 |
2 |
— |
11 |
2 |
|
|
Tipperary |
25 |
5 |
— |
13 |
1 |
2 towns included in environs |
|
Waterford |
11 |
2 |
— |
13 |
— |
|
|
Galway |
30 |
1 |
3 |
14 |
3 |
3 towns included in environs |
|
Leitrim |
12 |
2 |
— |
2 |
— |
|
|
Mayo |
19 |
8 |
— |
12 |
2 |
|
|
Roscommon |
10 |
1 |
— |
4 |
1 |
|
|
Sligo |
13 |
2 |
— |
4 |
— |
|
|
Cavan |
17 |
— |
1 |
4 |
— |
|
|
Donegal |
36 |
3 |
— |
16 |
— |
|
|
Monaghan |
6 |
2 |
— |
4 |
2 |
|
|
TOTAL |
527 |
77 |
12 |
228 |
30 |