Census stats show make-up of Laois-Offaly constituency

The census has revealed that in the Laois-Offaly constituency, people are much more likely to have left education earlier and with fewer qualifications than people nationally. There is a higher amount of people working in manufacturing and construction than the national average and in terms of religion, nationality and ethnicity Laois-Offaly is more homogenous than the State as a whole. The social, educational and working habits of people living in Offaly as recorded by the last census in 2006, have been broken down and examined by the Oireachtas library, in order to help TDs learn more about what makes their voters tick and identify what services are needed and where. The average age of the Laois-Offaly population is 35 years. There are more people aged 19 years and under than average and fewer people in the 20 to 39 age range than the national average. There are 104.1 males for every 100 females. According to the census, people are 4% more likely to be married than the national population and are also slightly more likely to be widowed. The proportion who are separated/divorced is close to the national average. Families Fewer families with adult children than the national average. More households with younger children. Approximately 13.4% of these families in Laois-Offaly have four children or more compared to a national average of 12%. Fewer single mother families than the national average. Education Approximately 58% of men completed their education at age 17 or below compared to 50% of men in the State. Women are less likely to have continued education past the age of 20, with only 18% of women completing education aged 21 years or above compared to the national average of 24%. More males left education at lower secondary level or below. Fewer females with third level qualifications than the national average. Work More women look after home/family than the national average. Men are more likely to be at work and less likely to be unemployed or a student than men nationally. Proportionally more people are employed in agriculture, forestry, fishing, construction and manufacturing than the national average. Proportionally fewer employed in commerce and trade than the national average. Religion More Catholics than the national average. Fewer people who have no religion than the national average. A greater proportion of Laois-Offaly people classify themselves as Catholics than in the State as a whole and people are much less likely to define themselves as having no religion. Volunteering Slightly higher rate of volunteerism than the national average. People in Laois-Offaly are slightly more likely to participate in a voluntary organisation than the national population. Nationally 16.4% of people volunteer in some way but this figure is 16.9% in Laois-Offaly. Housing Householders more likely to live in a house or bungalow than the national average (95% compared to 81%). Householders more likely to own homes than the national average. Average household size above the national average. Disability rates The census showed that 12,102 people in Laois-Offaly indicated that they had a disability, 8.8% of the population. This is lower than the national average of 9.3%. Approximately 28.7% of those aged 65 years and older in Laois-Offaly have a disability, while 11.8% of those aged 45 to 64 years old in Laois-Offaly have a disability. General Election 2007 Turnout was above the national average. A total of 103,673 people were registered to vote at the last election in Laois-Offaly. The turnout was 72,153 people or 69.6% of those registered to vote. There appears to be more people on the register than are eligible to vote.