Galway City is failing to meet key population growth targets

From this week’s Galway City Tribune – Population growth in Galway City Council’s administrative area was slower than any other local authority in the country.

The sluggish growth, according to analysis of preliminary Census figures, has sparked fears Galway City is being left behind.

It comes as councillors debate and vote on rezonings of land in the new City Development Plan, the planning blueprint for the next five years.

The latest Census preliminary figures from the Central Statistics Office rank Galway City as 29th out of 29 local authorities in terms of percentage growth in population since 2016.

It also ranks Galway City as 28th out of 29 local authorities in terms of actual growth in population. Only Leitrim had lower population growth since 2016.

The functional area of Galway City Council had a population of 83,456 according to Census 2022. This was up by 3,522 compared with Census 2016, which is growth of 4.41%. Leitrim grew by 3,043 people in the same period, which was 9.5% growth.

Brendan Mulligan, chartered engineer and member of the Gluas Committee that advocates for light rail, said Galway City was a ‘drag’ on the overall population growth of County Galway.

His analysis highlighted how the city was going to miss key population growth targets if it remains at the current rate of increase, which is way below projections.

This is a shortened preview version of this article. To read the rest of the story and for coverage of discussions on the Galway City Development Plan, see the July 8 edition of the Galway City Tribune. You can buy a digital edition HERE.