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SDG 11.1.1 Proportion of urban population living in slums, informal settlements or inadequate housing is indicated by data from the CSO and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.

Housing Information from Census of Population, 2016

According to the Census of Population only 1.4% of households had no central heating in 2016.

There was no central heating for 1.9% of households in the South-West compared to just 1% in the Border and in the Mid-East.

One in 1,000 households had no piped water supply, while the same proportion had no sewerage facility.  Three in 1,000 households lived in a mobile home or temporary structure. See Table 4.1.

Census of Population 2016 results show that nearly seven out of ten people (69%) had secure tenure rights to land in 2016.  In this context secure tenure rights to land is defined as owner-occupiers in the Census 2016 data.  This information is published in Census 2016 Housing in Ireland.

There was no central heating for 1.9% of people in the South-West compared to just 1% in the Border and in the Mid-East.  

The highest rate of secure tenure rights to land was 74% in the Border and Mid-East regions, while the lowest rate was 61% in Dublin.  See Table 4.2.

4.1 - SDG 11.1.1 Proportion of Households with No Access to Basic Services

4.2 - SDG 11.1.1 Proportion of Total Adult Population with Secure Tenure Rights to Land

Domestic Building Energy Rating

The CSO produce data on Domestic Building Energy Ratings.  A Building Energy Rating (BER) is an indication of the energy performance of a dwelling.  Characteristics such as the age and building type of a dwelling greatly influence a BER rating.  Older detached houses are much less energy-efficient than new middle-floor apartments. 

Figure 4.1 shows the proportion of "G" rated dwellings in each Dublin postal district and the average age of the dwellings that have had a BER audit completed.  For further information, see the CSO quarterly statistical release on Building Energy Rating.

Dublin Postal District% of Dwellings with "G" rating Average Age of Dwellings
Dublin 01833
Dublin 02635
Dublin 031258
Dublin 04746
Dublin 05544
Dublin 061560
Dublin 06W847
Dublin 071559
Dublin 081047
Dublin 09744
Dublin 10647
Dublin 11431
Dublin 12954
Dublin 13225
Dublin 14538
Dublin 15117
Dublin 16228
Dublin 17125
Dublin 18118
Dublin 20433
Dublin 22228
Dublin 24122

Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage

Data on Homelessness are published on the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage website.

Official homelessness data is produced by local authorities through the Pathway Accommodation and Support System (PASS).  PASS was rolled-out nationally during the course of 2013.

PASS has data on people in State funded emergency accommodation, which is overseen by local authorities.  For example data on domestic violence refuges is available through Tusla Child and Family Agency.  Data on asylum seekers accommodated in Direct Provision is available from the International Protection Accommodation Services (IPAS).

The lead local authorities for homelessness in each region provide monthly reports on homelessness which identify the number of people utilising State-funded emergency accommodation on a regional and county basis.

There were 8,914 people (6,463 adults and 2,451 children) homeless and living in emergency accommodation in December 2021, an increase of 8.7% from December 2020. 

There were more homeless male adults (4,434) than females (2,029).  See Table 4.3. 

The highest number of homeless adults by age group was 3,550 aged 25-44 years while the lowest was 127 for those aged 65 years and over.  See Table 4.4.

The number of homeless families rose by 11% in the year to December 2021, from 970 to 1,077  See Table 4.5.

This data is sourced from the December 2021 edition of the Monthly Homelessness Report, published by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.

There were 4,486 adults using emergency accommodation managed by a local authority in Dublin in December 2021, ten times higher than the Cork figure of 438 adults.  See Map 4.1 and Table 8.2 in the Background Notes.

6,463 adults
In December 2021, 6,463 adults were availing of homeless services, including 1,077 families who had 2,451 dependents
4.3 - SDG 11.1.1 Adults Accessing Local Authority Managed Emergency Accommodation by Gender

4.4 - SDG 11.1.1 Adults Accessing Local Authority Managed Emergency Accommodation by Age Group

4.5 - SDG 11.1.1 Families Accessing Local Authority Managed Emergency Accommodation

Note on Map 4.1 Data:
1. The number of homeless adults shown in Map 4.1 for each of the following counties is the average for the counties combined:
    Laois/Longford (average of both counties);
    Louth/Monaghan/Cavan (average of the three counties);
    Donegal/Leitrim (average of both counties);
    Mayo/Roscommon (average of both counties).
2. Where fewer than ten individuals are recorded in a county, data are aggregated in line with best practice described in the Irish Statistical System Code of Practice (ISSCOP).

Data presented in Map 4.1 is in Table 8.2 in the Background Notes.

Monitoring Adequate Housing in Ireland

Monitoring Adequate Housing in Ireland was published jointly on 14 September, 2021 by The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC) and the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).  It is the tenth and final report in a series of publications as part of the Research Programme on Human Rights and Equality.

Extracts from the Press Release are provided in this section.

In March 2021, 5,894 adults were availing of homeless services, including 913 families who had 2,166 dependents.  In 2020, there were 61,880 households on the waiting list for social housing and in 2019, there were over 91,600 people in receipt of government benefits to cover housing costs (HAP, Rent Supplement or RAS).

The right to adequate housing is a key element of international human rights agreements that Ireland has signed up to.  The report looks at six dimensions of housing adequacy - accessibility, affordability, security of tenure, cultural adequacy, quality, and location.  It develops a tool to monitor adequate housing, by identifying indicators for measuring progress.  It also provides baseline figures on the housing situation of a range of social groups before, or in the early part of, the COVID-19 pandemic.

The research analyses a range of national datasets and included a consultation process with 30 stakeholders representing a wide range of organisations and groups.

Key findings include:

  • Lone parents significantly affected: Less than 25% of lone parents reported home-ownership, compared with 70% of total population.  Lone parents had higher rates of affordability issues (19%) when compared to the general population (5%) and were particularly vulnerable to housing quality problems such as damp and lack of central heating (32% compared to 22% of total population).
  • Overcrowding: Ethnic minority groups had a significantly higher risk of over-crowding.  Over 35% of Asian/Asian Irish, 39% of travellers and over 40% of black/black Irish live in over-crowded accommodation, compared to 6% of the total population.
  • Migrant impacts: 48% of migrants live in the private rental sector but just 9% of those born in Ireland live in the private rental sector.  Migrants, specifically those from Eastern Europe (28%) and non-EU countries (27%), are more likely to live in over-crowded conditions.
  • Disability and housing quality: 29% of persons living with a disability experience housing quality issues, when compared to those without a disability (21%).  People with a disability are also more likely to report an inability to keep their home warm and arrears on rent or mortgage payments.
  • Homelessness: The continuing problem of homelessness highlights a very disadvantaged section of the community for whom the most basic measure of adequate housing as envisaged under international human rights agreements is not being met.

Key challenges identified in the study include:

  • COVID-19 and homelessness: There remains a real risk that levels of homelessness will rise following the lifting of pandemic protections and due to the restriction on construction activity which limited housing supply.  Homeless figures also exclude those in ‘hidden homeless’ living situations – those staying with friends or family, ‘sofa surfing’, or those who are not interacting with homeless services.
  • Rents rising faster than wages: Despite the introduction of Rent Pressure Zones in late 2016, rents have increased by almost 40% in Dublin and 20% elsewhere, since 2007.  Rental costs have risen at a faster rate than mean earnings in Dublin and elsewhere.  In 2020, mean monthly rent in Ireland was estimated to be 31% of mean monthly earnings.
  • Use of private rental accommodation: The policy shift to housing those with housing needs, including at risk groups, in private rental accommodation supported by HAP raises issues around the security and quality of such housing.
  • Missing data: Ethnic minorities such as travellers, and the black ethnic group face higher discrimination in their search for accommodation and are at much higher risk of overcrowding and homelessness.  However, on most indicators of housing adequacy there is no measure of ethnicity, or refugees and asylum seeker status.

Details are in the full report titled ‘Monitoring Adequate Housing in Ireland’ (IHREC, ESRI, 2021).

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SDG 11.2.1 Proportion of population that has convenient access to public transport, by sex, age and persons with disabilities was published by the CSO, SDG Division.

The CSO ‘Measuring distance to everyday services in Ireland’, analyses how close or far away people in Ireland live from everyday facilities, (such as schools, hospitals, public transport and post offices), and provides insights on the differences in service accessibility at regional and local level.

The demand for data and insight continues to grow unabated.  The growth is not just apparent in terms of the broad range of themes (e.g. globalisation, productivity, well-being, sexual violence) that Official Statisticians are being asked to provide information on but also in relation to the level of detail being required in the analysis (e.g. geographical detail, socio-demographic variables, foreign/domestic company ownership).  It is clear that the range and depth of demand cannot be met from survey data alone but through analysis of new data sources including administrative records held by public sector bodies and some emerging private data sources.

Bus stop the closest public transport option

The analysis in this chapter examines the services offered by Irish Rail, Bus Eireann, Dublin Bus, Luas and the city bike stations and excludes services offered by commercial bus operators.

For 4.4 million people, (93% of the population), the bus stop was the nearest public transport option.

A train station was the closest public transport option for 253,462 people (5.3%), while a Luas station was the nearest public stop for 30,871 people (0.6%).

A city bike station, in either Dublin, Cork, Limerick or Galway, was the closest public transport option for 55,957 people, representing 1.2% of the State total.  See Table 4.6.

4.6 - SDG 11.2.1 Nearest Public Transport Option for the Population

Distance to nearest public transport stop by service frequency

The relationship between the frequency of services of each public transport stop (Luas, Train and Bus) and the population are explored in Table 4.7 and Figure 4.1.

The nearest public transport stop had a minimum of 50 services on a normal weekday for 1.4 million people, (30% of the population), and 925,930 of these people were within 500 metres.

In contrast, the nearest public transport stop for 938,421 people (20% of the population) had less than five services a day, and just over half of these (471,740) lived a distance of at least 2kms away.

4.7 - SDG 11.2.1 Population by Distance to Nearest Public Transport Stop (Luas, Train, Bus) by Frequency of Service of Nearest Stop

Less than 500metres500m-1km1-2kms2-5kmsMore than 5kms
Less than five stops per day142712144092179877254728217012
5-10 stops per day120839106732101932142022124346
11-25 stops per day258768187240180406154602203144
25-50 stops per day3456781836671228768932490401
More than 50 stops per day9259303090641072103892930334

In 2016 there were 593,411 people aged 66 years or over, therefore meeting the age eligibility criteria for the Free Travel Scheme, and Table 4.8 shows that 230,302 (39%) lived within 500 metres of their nearest public transport stop.  There were 153,398 people who were serviced by at least 25 daily departures at their closest stop, representing approximately one-quarter of all persons aged 66 years or over.

However, there were 211,576 people who qualified for the Free Travel Scheme on age grounds in 2016 where the closest public transport stop had less than ten daily departures, of which 104,642 lived a distance of 2kms or more.

4.8 - SDG 11.2.1 Population Aged 66 Years or Over in 2016 by Distance to Nearest Public Transport Stop (Luas, Train, Bus) by Frequency of Service of Nearest Stop

Dublin City (0.6%) had the lowest percentage of the population living closest to a transport option with less than ten departures each day.  In contrast, at least three-quarters of the population in three counties lived in closest proximity to a low frequency public transport service - Leitrim (95%), Longford (80%), and Wexford (75%).

Dublin City was the area best served with high frequency public transport, with the closest stop having over 50 departures a day for 84% of the population.  Cork City (64%), South Dublin (64%) and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown (57%) were the next highest in this category.  See Table 4.9.

Map 4.1 shows the county breakdown of the population where the nearest public transport stop had low frequency daily services (i.e. less than ten daily departures) during the working week. 

4.9 - SDG 11.2.1 Population by Frequency of Services Offered by Nearest Public Transport Stop, by County, NUTS 3 Region and State

There were 489,656 people living in households with no car or van ownership and almost half of these (234,418) lived less than 500 metres from a public transport stop offering a minimum of 25 services on a normal weekday.

In contrast, there were 44,841 persons (9%) in households with no car or van ownership that were more than 2kms from public transport options, of which 14,741 had less than five daily services at their nearest stop.  See Table 4.10.

4.10 - SDG 11.2.1 Population in Households with no car or van Ownership in 2016, by Frequency of Service of Nearest Stop

63,133
There were 63,133 people who commuted to work by rail (Train, Luas or DART) in 2016 and the national average distance for these commuters to the closest station was 2.3kms

Train commuters living on average 2.3kms from their nearest station

There were 63,133 people who commuted to work by rail (Train, Luas or DART) in 2016, and Table 4.9 shows that the national average distance for these commuters to the closest station was 2.3kms.

The average distance to a station for the 17,160 rail commuters living in Dublin City was 800 metres.  For the 15,794 rail commuters living in counties outside Dublin, the average distance was 5.2kms, with 57% (9,064) living 2kms or more from the nearest rail stop.

A total of 26,224 people who travelled by rail to work in 2016 lived less than 1km to their nearest rail station, representing 42% of all rail commuters.  This percentage increased to 72% (or 12,326 persons) for rail commuters residing in Dublin City.  See Table 4.11 and Figure 4.2.

4.11 - SDG 11.2.1 Population Whose Means of Travel in 2016 was Train, Dart or Luas, by Distance to Nearest Train or Luas Station

Less than 500metres500m-1km1-2kms2-5kms
Dublin City6187613936261198
Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown2472448048032322
Fingal813212150403895
South Dublin73581110911112
Remaining Counties668179842644837

One in twelve people within 2kms of Luas station

Over 400,000 people lived within 2kms of a Luas station, with the Red Line accounting for 187,926 of these, while the Green Line was within 2kms proximity for 146,519 people.

The opening of the Luas Cross City Line in 2017 brought an extra 74,263 residents within 2kms of the tram network, and 22,423 were less than 500 metres to their nearest stop.  See Table 4.12 and Figure 4.3.

4.12 - SDG 11.2.1 Population within 2kms of Their Nearest Luas Station

Regional and Local Level

The CSO publication ‘Measuring Distances to Everyday Services in Ireland 2019', provides insights on the differences in service accessibility at regional and local level.  An Interactive Dashboard has been developed for each county to facilitate the visualisation of data from this publication.  Dashboards are used to display multiple visualisations that work together on a single screen, and can give a comprehensive view of the data relating to a single geographical area.

To change county please use the drop-down list at the top-right hand corner of the dashboard.  Note that the dashboard is best viewed on a PC, laptop or tablet.

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SDG 11.3.1 Ratio of land consumption rate to population growth rate is based on data published by Eurostat.

Eurostat publish an index of 'Land covered by artificial surfaces' from the Land Use and Cover Area frame Survey (LUCAS).

In 2018, the Index was 110.2 from a base year of 100 in 2015.  This indicated that the artificial surface cover increased by just over 10% between 2015 and 2018, compared with a population increase of 3.6%.  See Table 4.13.

4.13 - SDG 11.3.1 Ratio of Land Consumption Rate to Population Growth Rate in Ireland

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SDG 11.3.2 Proportion of cities with a direct participation structure of civil society in urban planning and management that operate regularly and democratically is published by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. 

Project Ireland 2040 - National Planning Framework

Planning in Ireland is strengthened and informed by public participation at all levels of governance from national to regional to local level.  The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, on behalf of the Government has prepared and published the finalised National Planning Framework under Project Ireland 2040, the overarching policy and planning framework for the social, economic and cultural development of our country. 

The National Planning Framework has been published in 2018 following two formal phases of public consultation, over 40 regional events and workshops, four engagements with various Oireachtas Joint Committees, feedback from an expert Advisory Group and detailed submissions from a range of stakeholders.

Following adoption of Project Ireland 2040 - National Planning Framework, Regional Spatial and Economic Strategies (RSES’s) were prepared for each of the NUTS 3 Regions in Ireland, which are governed by regional assemblies.  The RSES’s were subject to three formal phases of public consultation along with extensive stakeholder engagement with local authorities (municipalities), state agencies, public bodies and other interest groups.  These regional strategies were adopted during 2019 -2020 by the elected members of the assemblies, putting in place a long-term planning and economic framework for the development of the Irish regions.

The adoption of overarching national and regional urban planning policy embeds a spatial hierarchy of plans that cascades to local level, with the ongoing review of city and county development plans by each of the 31 local authorities in Ireland.  The development plan is the main public statement of planning policies and sets out the land use, amenity and development objectives and policies of the planning authority, for a six-year period.  Elected members (councillors) are responsible for making the development plan, which is subject to three public consultation periods.  Information on current and upcoming public consultations on city/county development plan reviews is published in an accessible format on the website of the Irish Office of the Planning Regulator (See map).

Local authorities control the type of development in their areas by making decisions on planning applications, in line with the policies and objectives in their development plan. Everyone has a right to comment on planning matters (through the development management process) and to shape the planning and development of their area (through the development plan making process). The restrictions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic emphasised the need to provide the public with adequate remote access to planning services and to facilitate online public participation in the development plan process, and there are many examples of good practice in public engagement on the forward planning process across the local authority sector.

A Guide to the Development Plan Leaflet

The development plan shapes the future of your local environment, community and your local authority (i.e. your city or county council).  There are 31 local authorities in Ireland and each local authority must prepare a new development plan every six years.  This leaflet, A Guide to the Development Plan, explains how the development plan is prepared, and the important role that the public and communities play in contributing to it.

Some extracts from the above leaflet include the following:

How do I make my views known?

Any person, even if not living in the plan area, can make written observations to your local authority during the review and display periods.  This includes children or groups representing children.  In addition, the planning authority may invite the public to state its case orally to a person appointed by the planning authority - usually an official.  These procedures apply equally to public displays of the draft plan and any changes to it.  It is also open to people to make their views known to their local councillors.  Remember, the development plan is your plan and you have a right to a say in the future planning and development of your locality.

Where can I see the development plan and get a copy?

When a development plan is formally made, the planning authority publishes a notice in a newspaper circulating in the locality.  The development plan is then available for the public to view during office hours at the planning authority offices, the local library, any of the local authority’s offices and is generally available on the local authority’s website.  Copies of the entire plan, or extracts from it, may be purchased from the planning authority at a reasonable cost or can be viewed on or downloaded from your local authority’s website.  As plans differ in size, use of colour, number and size of maps, the cost of making copies will differ from area to area.

The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage has also created an easy-to-use website which is a one stop shop for information about development plans and also provides other information relevant to planning decision-making (census, heritage sites, patterns of housing development, etc.)

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