Vol. 442 No. 1
6 Mr. Deenihan asked the Taoiseach the number of townlands in County Kerry which showed a population presence in the 1926 census but which did not return a population presence in the 1991 census; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Out of a total of 2,793 townlands in County Kerry 121, representing 4.3 per cent of the total, were populated according to the 1926 Census of Population and unpopulated according to the most recent census carried out in April 1991.
Is the Minister concerned that more than 120 townlands in County Kerry are now depopulated? Would he agree that the policies pursued by both the EU and national Governments in recent times have contributed enormously to such depopulation? What action does the Government propose to take to reverse this trend throughout the west?
I am sorry that I cannot assist the Deputy as I would like. This question is essentially statistical and the Deputy will have to pursue policy matters by way of other questions.
Does the Minister have the population figures for the period in question?
Are these statistics not an indication of the rate of emigration from large areas of south Kerry? Will the Minister accept that 200,000 people either emigrated or are on the dole since Fianna Fáil returned to power in 1987? Will he further agree that most of those who emigrated or are on the dole come from remote parts of the country like Deputy Deenihan's constituency in Kerry and my adjoining constituency in west Cork?
Deputies should avoid getting into the area of policy; we are dealing with statistics only.
The Minister is willing to answer.
If the Minister has statistics to provide, that is in order, but going into matters of policy is not.
Depopulation of townlands is not necessarily caused by emigration; it can be the result of migration from a rural area to an urban area where there is employment.
That is a very weak excuse for a bad performance.
