General Chat

Broadband in Ireland

According to the 2006 census figures - 20% of households in Ireland have Broadband access.
The town with the lowest broadband uptake is Castlebridge - where only 3.25% of households had broadband in May 2006.
Malahide has the biggest use of broadband - 46.34% of households have it.
It is still one of the lowest broadband penetration rates in the EU. The large rural and small town population still have very poor access to broadband in Ireland.

The census figures for 2006 have been broken down to show which nationalities live in the larger towns (poulation over 1500). It makes interesting reading.
Overall - 11.24% of the population are not Irish (457000 out of a pupulation of 4.06 million).
The town of Clogherhead in Louth has no Asians (but they have a Chinese restaurant?)
The town of Gort has 40% non-irish - mainly Brazilians (900 of them)
The second in the list of towns with the most immigrants is Ballyhaunis in County Mayo - 36% foreign nationals there.
The town with the least foreign nationals is Clara in Kildare - with just 5.29% (156 people) - but 45 didn't state nationality - so the figures could be wrong.
The town with the lowest number of non irish is Portrane in County Dublin - with just 88 non irish (6 people didn't state what nationality they were).
The town with the highest percentage of Asians is Ballyhaunis Co mayo (just under 10%) - the next highest is Ballaghadereen in Mayo too - with 7.5%. The presence of asylum seeker hostels in both these towns might be a contributory factor.

A 2006 survey of the price of basic foodstuffs and non alcoholic beverages in European countries shows that Ireland is in 5th most expensive.
The survey was published by Eurostat - the Statistical Office of the European Union. The results presented refer to the survey on food, beverages and tobacco carried out in 2006 in the 37 participating countries. This survey covered a total of approximately 500 comparable products.
The figures are expressed as the costs compared to the EU average (100)
Ireland came out as the most expensive for alcoholic drink - and the Irish still manage to get through a fair bit of it despite the price.

Iceland 164
Norway 158
Denmark 142
Switzerland 142
Ireland 125
Finland 120
Sweden 119
Italy 115
Luxembourg 115
United Kingdom 113
Belgium 110
Austria 110
Cyprus 107
Germany 105
France 105
Greece 98
Spain 92
Croatia 89
Netherlands 88
Portugal 88
Slovenia 87
Turkey 84
Malta 83
Estonia 75
Montenegro 74
Albania 72
Hungary 71
Romania 71
Bosnia-Herzegovina 71
Czech Republic 69
Latvia 69
Poland 67
Slovakia 67
Serbia 67
Lithuania 64
Bulgaria 56
The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 56

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McAnne, my husband has lots of Irish family. One cousin lived until recently in a very old cottage that was built by his uncles and aunts. He also owns, together with his sister, but doesn't live in, the house owned by his father's family. The cousin built a modern house in his own (large) garden and moved into that, which left two houses empty. He is now divorcing and is thinking of selling the new one and building another house on his own land, which will leave three houses empty.

On the other side of the family, one 90 yr old bachelor uncle owns nearly 30 acres of land and lives in the home he and all the brothers and sisters were born in. As there were no ownership papers going back to the previous generation he had to use a solicitor to ask the remaining siblings to agree that he owned the house as he had lived in it all his life and they had moved away to England. This was done. There are also two derelict houses on his land that belonged to grandparents, now long dead, but which need demolishing if not rebuilding.

This means he has three houses, two empty.

I don't know if this is the case everywhere but in rural Roscommon and Galway this is my experience. It is the younger, inheriting generations who are now selling on the empty houses.

Helen

Thank you so much - that does seem like an obvious explanation - I had heard that homes are kept in families for generations.

Mind I'm not complaining that they are empty cos that is a bonus in the market these days lol

Many thanks again x

Now I just spotted an opening for you there Anne!
Start up an internet cafe! I will only take 25% for the idea! lol

I personally would rent for a sixmonth trial period, especially if there is a glut of housing for sale, as if you weren't satisfied with the location of the house when you bought and lived in it, you might be stuck for a long time. If you rent in an area you like the look of, you get the feel and aren't stuck there if it doesn't turn out to be quite right!
Good luck,
Lizx

McAnne

In the South there has been a trend to self build (this is starting to slow up in some areas now due to the rise in land prices).

Is it possible that these house have been vacated by individuals who have gone and built their own houses.

Karen

Thanks Karen :O)


Hi Liz - yes i had planned to rent for a while initially a) because as you say the area might not suit, and b) trying to buy a house from here is just impractical.

Not sure about the Internet Cafe tho lol

I like the b&b idea best :-)

Anita, where are you thinking of going?

Hi Helen - somewhere in the North Antrim region :O)

I am so ignorant I don't know where that is!

LOL it's almost as far north of NI that you can go - up near Coleraine - just look on google maps lol

McAnne when I moved so far across the country I rented out my home in the south and rented a place up here, as I wasnt entirely sure what the future would hold.

That was a few years ago now and as it was I bought the house I rented after 6 months of living here as the landlord wanted to sell and id only just finished unpacking pmpl!!

I've never looked back :)

wee nudge in case Helen missed this lol


Maddie - I can only hope that I am as lucky - how fantastic to find the perfect place straight off like that eh?? :O))