A clutch of statistical information on Irish society in recent days gives a valuable and revealing picture of how it is changing and developing. The Central Statistics Office deserves to be congratulated for several innovations in the presentation of these figures, which are indispensable for social and welfare planning. Yesterday, Volume 2 of the 1996 Census showed a population older and with a substantially larger proportion of single, including separated, people than before. The latest Labour Force Survey shows the highest number of people at work in the history of the State and a hefty fall in unemployment. It also reveals that immigration to Ireland has reached record levels, with returning Irish emigrants making up half the numbers. The UK remains the predominant destination for Irish migrants and the main place from which they return, but other parts of the world figure increasingly prominently. The migration and labour force statistics are particularly innovative. Immediate generalisation is hazardous when one is confronted by such a large mass of information. It will take time and expertise to tease out its meaning and implications. But certain trends stand out from the latest census volume on age and marital status. The population is getting older compared to the last census - on average by three years. But it is not as lopsided as many other European states so far as dependency ratios are concerned. This will give Ireland comparative advantage over the next generation in planning welfare and pension arrangements, so as to prepare carefully and flexibly for a greater dependency to come.
The migration statistics show that half the population increase is now accounted for by immigration, as fertility rates converge rapidly towards the European average. Such a trend will probably continue and should encourage a more positive attitude towards the Irish overseas - and in Northern Ireland. Their pools of skill can compensate for shortfalls in the State's labour force which are becoming rapidly apparent as economic growth proceeds. Assuming it does, we will also have to accustom ourselves to substantially greater economic migration here by people from all over the world.
The statistics on marital status demonstrate that many more people are single, whether because of later marriage or the greater numbers of separations. It is a more lonely and atomised society, much more in need of new forms of community to compensate for the disintegration of tighter - and generally more repressive - social bonds. It is also clearly a more urban one, not merely in the Dublin colossus, but in the 30 or so centres where the great majority of the population live. Their urbanity contradicts stereotypical notions of metropolitan sophistication and provincial backwardness. They escape Dublin's congestion, are just as well educated and provided with the contemporary consumer and cultural goods - and have as ready access to international trends. The new, more prosperous Ireland is, finally, becoming more unequal, despite economic growth and genuine social development. Those who value social cohesion cannot but be worried about such trends. The next phase of statistical innovation should attempt to monitor and highlight them more effectively and regularly.