An advisory body has warned that Ireland’s population is at risk of what it called a “vicious downward cycle” due to a declining birth rate.<\/p>\n
The statement is contained in a report by the National Economic and Social Council (NESC), which researched recent demographic shifts across the country.<\/p>\n
It calls on the Government to begin planning for any negative impacts from a downward cycle before it becomes too difficult to reverse.<\/p>\n
The report says that Ireland’s demographic profile is undergoing rapid and profound change as the birth rate falls and the population ages.<\/p>\n
It means an ageing and declining population will put increasing pressure on a society, with fewer workers and tax revenues that are needed to support investment in infrastructure and services.<\/p>\n
However, one of the report’s authors, Dr Gr\u00e1inne Collins, said that while these shifts are inevitable, they can be guided and do not have to be destabilising.<\/p>\n
The report outlines a potential “virtuous cycle”, as long as Ireland urgently begins preparing economically and socially for these shifts.<\/p>\n
It urges the Government to ring-fence funds to build a cushion against rising future costs without cuts to services or tax hikes.<\/p>\n
The report also calls for pension reform, a proactive approach to migration, balanced regional development, family support policies and increased participation in the workforce.<\/p>\n
The report concludes that if these challenges are met head-on, future generations could inherit an opportunity instead of a crisis.<\/p>\n
NESC Director Dr Larry O’Connell said the patterns that Ireland is experiencing are being seen across Europe. <\/p>\n
“While Ireland has undergone remarkable change in recent decades, it would be unrealistic to assume this pace can continue indefinitely,” he said.<\/p>\n
“Demographic trends will shape living standards, labour markets and the sustainability of public finances for many years to come, and a rapidly ageing population will place growing pressure on our care systems.”<\/p>\n
Dr O\u2019Connell added: “Long-term planning is therefore essential as we confront these profound shifts. <\/p>\n
“With a positive and ambitious approach, Ireland can ensure that demographic change becomes a springboard for a more cohesive and inclusive society.” <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An advisory body has warned that Ireland’s population is at risk of what it called a “vicious downward…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":256393,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[9,10,18,13,14,6,19,17,11,12,15,16,5,7,8],"class_list":{"0":"post-256392","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ireland","8":"tag-breaking-news","9":"tag-breakingnews","10":"tag-eire","11":"tag-featured-news","12":"tag-featurednews","13":"tag-headlines","14":"tag-ie","15":"tag-ireland","16":"tag-latest-news","17":"tag-latestnews","18":"tag-main-news","19":"tag-mainnews","20":"tag-news","21":"tag-top-stories","22":"tag-topstories"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/115803677304216077","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/256392","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=256392"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/256392\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/256393"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=256392"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=256392"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=256392"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}