The Central Statistics Office says the population of the Republic of Ireland is rising.
The population of the Republic of Ireland currently stands at four and a quarter million people. The Central Statistics Office (CSO) predicts that by the year 2041, there will be 4.9 million people living here and may even reach five million.
If recent higher immigration and fertility trends continue, that figure will rise to five million.
Aidan Punch, Director at the CSO, says that migration is the key indicator in making population projections.
These population projections have significance for government policy makers especially in terms of the numbers of older and young people, and labour force participation.
The CSO says that by 2041, the number of older people will have risen from the current figure of 460,000 to 1.4 million accounting for a quarter of the total population. A projected a 10 per cent rise in the number of children and a decline in labour force participation could place a financial strain on the state.
Austin Hughes, Economist at IIB, is confident that the country has time over the next few years to put money by for pensions and to deal with infrastructure problems.
Our population is growing very rapidly compared to most other western European economies.
At the launch of 'Pensions in the Workplace Day', Martin Cullen Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs warned that people must take responsibility for their future. He says that people need to invest in their pension from the day they start work. Some sort of mandatory pension scheme seems more and more likely.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 30 April 2008. The reporter is Will Goodbody.
