A selection of numerical nuggets for you to digest:-
0 – following the 2007 general election Tipperary was represented in Dáil Éireann by Michael Lowry (Independent), Noel Coonan (Fine Gael), Tom Hayes (Fine Gael) and three Fianna Fáil deputies, namely Máire Hoctor, Mattie McGrath and Dr Martin Mansergh. Following the 2011 general election Michael Lowry (Independent), Noel Coonan (Fine Gael) and Alan Kelly (Labour) were elected in North Tipperary. Meanwhile Séamus Healy (Independent), Tom Hayes (Fine Gael) and Mattie McGrath (Independent) were elected in South Tipperary. Not a single Fianna Fáil TD was elected to represent the county in Dáil Éireann.
5 – following the deliberations of the Constituency Commission North & South Tipperary will now be amalgamated into one single five-seat constituency. Tipperary was previously a single constituency for 24 years (1923-47) when it was a seven-seater. Following the recent report the number of TDs will be reduced nationally from 166 to 158 while the number of constituencies will be reduced from 43 to 40. The changes will also see a section of North Tipperary in the north-west of the county (population 10,953) transferred into the new Offaly constituency. Under article 16 of the Constitution the total number of members of the Dáil should not be less than one member for each 30,000 of the population nor more than one member for each 20,000 of the population. With 158 TDs the ratio will be 29,039 – the closest to the limit since the adoption of the Constitution in 1937.
20 – following the 2004 local elections Fianna Fáil held 20 of the 47 council seats. Following the 2009 local elections that number had fallen to 12 (six in North Tipperary and six in South Tipperary). In 2004 Fine Gael won 13 seats, but that figure grew to 16 in 2009. In 2009 the turnout for the local elections in North Tipperary averaged at 73% while in South Tipperary it averaged out at 66%.
22nd – according to the 2012 Sunday Times schools survey Tipperary’s highest ranking school is the Cistercian College, Roscrea (22nd). Glenstal Abbey was rated the best secondary school in the country while the following Tipperary schools also figured in the survey: Ursuline Secondary School, Thurles (31st), St Mary’s Secondary School, Nenagh (67th), Rockwell College (91st), Loreto Secondary School, Clonmel (124th), the Abbey School, Tipperary (174th), Presentation Secondary School, Thurles (181st), Borrisokane Community College (184th), Our Lady’s, Templemore (243rd), St Joseph’s College, Borrisoleigh (245th), Cashel Community School (292nd), Scoil Mhuire, Carrick-on-Suir (311st), St Joseph’s Nenagh CBS (315th), St Anne’s Secondary School, Tipperary (329th), Árdscoil na mBráithre, Clonmel (337th), Coláiste dun Iascaigh, Cahir (358th), St Mary’s Secondary School, Newport (378th), Thurles CBS (385th), CBS Carrick-on-Suir (394th) & Coláiste Phobal Ros Cré (399th).
25% - according to the 2012 Sunday Times property survey the average drop in property values across the country fell 17%. Of the 65 markets surveyed South Tipperary recorded the second highest drop of 25% – Wexford was the worst hit with a drop of 34% while prices in North Tipperary dropped by 12.5%. Since the peak in 2007 property prices in North Tipperary have dropped 43% while they have dropped 53% in South Tipperary. In 2007 a three-bed semi in an urban area averaged at €235,000 in North Tipperary and at €220,000 in South Tipperary. The respective prices have now fallen to €130,000 and €110,000.
39.6% - in the 2011 Presidential Election Michael D Higgins earned 39.6% of first preference votes. In North Tipperary he attracted 34.8% and in South Tipperary 35.4%.
49.8% - when North Tipperary voted on Lisbon Referendum in 2008 49.8% voted in favour while in the South the tally came to 46.8%. When the Fianna Fáil-led government asked the Irish public to vote on the treaty once more in 2009 the North Tipperary yes vote climbed to 70.4% while in the South it jumped to 68.4%. The national average for the yes vote in 2009 was 67%.
52 – there are fifty-two ghost estates in Tipperary (28 incomplete in North Tipperary and 24 in South Tipperary).
65.58% – over sixty-five per cent of people in North Tipperary voted in favour of the 2012 Fiscal Treaty. In South Tipperary 60.65% voted yes while the national yes vote tallied at 60.3%. Both North (53.97%) and South Tipperary (52.96%) were in the top ten constituencies in the country in terms of voter turnout.
80 – according to figures released in October 2011 80 pubs closed in Tipperary between 2005 and 2011. Nationally the number of pub closures climbed above 1,100 during the same period.
91.3% – according to the 2011 Census 91.3% of the population in Tipperary describe themselves as “Catholic”.
742 – seven hundred and forty-two burglaries were recorded in Tipperary in 2011, a 23% increase on the 2010 figure. That figure does not include the theft of home heating oil which is also on the increase in both urban and rural areas. There were 603 burglaries recorded in Tipperary in 2010, 650 in 2009 and 590 in 2008.
14,104 – Michael Lowry has dominated the political landscape in North Tipperary for some time. In the 2011 General Election the Independent deputy earned 14,104 first preference votes, in 2007 12,919, in 2002 10,400 and in 1997 11,638. The only other deputies to come anywhere close to Mr Lowry’s first preference tally during the past four general elections are: Noel Coonan in 2011 (11,425), Alan Kelly in 2011 (9,559) and Michael O’Kennedy in 1997 (9,895).
14,282 – according to figures released by the Department of the Environment in June 14,282 households (of 25,703) in North Tipperary had registered to pay the household charge. That’s a compliance rate of 55.565%. In South Tipperary the compliance rate was reported as 53.498%. Of the 32,794 households in South Tipperary 17,544 registered to pay the controversial charge. The national rate of compliance is approaching 56% (924,884 households paid the charge on or before March 31st). The most compliant constituency in the country was Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown with 76.3%. The lowest rates of compliance were recorded in the Waterford City Council (45.5%), Offaly County Council (46.9%) and Louth County Council (47.9%) areas.
17,519 – according to the Central Statistics Office 17,519 are currently registered on the Live Register in Tipperary (South 9,678, North 7,841). At the height of the boom (2007) just 5,606 were signing on in Tipperary (South 3,144, North 2,462). In five years unemployment in Tipperary has risen by 11,913 – that’s an increase of 212%. It is worth noting that these figures do not account for those who have opted to emigrate.
€132,511 – according to figures sourced by the Irish Examiner the North Tipperary County Manager Joe MacGrath earns an annual salary of €132,511 while the three directors of service in the constituency earn €90,453 to €106,900. In South Tipperary the County Manager (Billy McEvoy) earns €142,469 while the five directors of services earn €90,453 to €106,900.
158,754 – according to the 2011 Census the population of Tipperary is 158,754. The population of North Tipperary is 70,322 (up 6.5%) – 35,340 male, 34,982 female. The population of South Tipperary is 88,432 – 44,244 male, 44,188 female.
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