Irish Towns Guide

Yet another litter survey by  IBAL  . The 2009 results were released today (Jan 4th 2010)  The  litter survey covers 60 towns with  over 6,000 population . Sites are graded by An Taisce according to international standards.

The cleanest town was Bray – whilst the two dirtiest were Limerick and Wicklow.

IBAL Anti Litter League Final Results 2009

1 Bray

2 Cavan

3 Drogheda

4 Clonmel

5 Longford

6 Wexford

7 Carlow

8 Sligo

9 Celbridge

10 Blanchardstown

11 Ballincollig

12 Dundalk

13 Mullingar

14 Trim

15 Portlaoise

16 Navan

17 Roscommon

18 Dún Laoghaire

19 Tramore

20 Shannon

21 Killarney

22 Leixlip

23 Dungarvan

24 Ballina

25 Castlebar

26 Kilkenny

27 Fermoy

28 Swords

29 Balbriggan

30 Newbridge

31 Newcastlewest

32 Midleton

33 Ashbourne

34 Thurles

35 Enniscorthy

36 Youghal

37 Monaghan

38 Lucan

39 Cobh

Moderately Littered

40 Waterford City

41 Buncrana

42 Tullamore

43 Arklow

44 Gorey

45 Galway

46 Ennis

47 Tuam

48 Tralee

49 New Ross

Littered

50 Cork City

51 Dublin City

52 Naas

53 Nenagh

Seriously Littered

54 Ballinasloe

55 Tallaght

56 Letterkenny

57 Athlone

58 Mallow

Litter Blackspots

59 Wicklow

60 Limerick City

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Based on 2008 figures for entry into third level in Ireland – these are the 20 best secondary schools in South Dublin. This League Table was compiled by the Sunday Times newspaper in 2009 and is based on the percentage of Leving Cert students going on to third level in Ireland. It probably isn’t the best way of assessing a school – but it is the only one available in the absence of any government statistics on exam results .

G=Girls School ; B= Boys School; M= Mixed
Figures = % admitted to third level education in Ireland.

1 The Teresian School, Donnybrook, Dublin 4 G    100%
2 Mount Anville Secondary School,  Dublin 14 G   97.9%
3 Colaiste Eoin, Booterstown, Co Dublin B   97.2%
4 Gonzaga College, Ranelagh, Dublin 6 B   96.6%
5 Colaiste Iosagain, Booterstown, Co Dublin G   95.5%
6 Loreto College, St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2 G   83.0%
7 Muckross Park College, Donnybrook, Dublin 4 G   81.1%
8 St Joseph of Cluny, Killiney, Co Dublin G  80.0%
9 Alexandra College, Milltown, Dublin 6 G   78.5%
10 Loreto College, Foxrock, Dublin 18 G  77.7%
11 Holy Child Secondary School,Killiney, G  75.8%
12 The High School, Rathgar, Dublin 6 M   75.4%
13 Rosemont School, Blackrock, Co Dublin G  75.0%
14 St Michael’s College, Ailesbury Rd, Dublin 4 B 72.1%
15 Loreto High School, Rathfarnham, Dublin 14 G   70.5%
16 Mount Sackville Secondary School,Chapelizod, G    69.2%
17 St Andrew’s College, Blackrock, Co Dublin M    67.3%
18 Blackrock College, Blackrock, Co Dublin B    65.9%
19 St Conleth’s College, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 M   65.1%
20 Sandford Park School, Ranelagh, Dublin 6 B   63.4%

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This site has started some discussion on a Tripadvisor Forum. See  Here
Nice to see some people looking at the site. Just to confirm – this site uses Census 2006 data mainly but is in no way connected with the CSO.
The compilation of the best and worst towns was carried out using certain data from the census . There are probably many other statistics that could be used to get a fuller more accurate picture- (if they were available) – but the census data was all that was used.
The chart is probably more of a measure of the wealth or affluence of a town rather than trying to be an accurate measure of the quality of life in these towns.

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The  IBAL released details of its final 2008 anti-litter survey of 55 Irish towns and cities which show a record 36 towns are now classed as “litter free”.Ireland’s cleanest town will be announced today from the top five who head the current league table — Cavan, Dungarvan, Fermoy, Howth and Sligo.

Cobh in Co Cork was branded the country’s dirtiest town — firmly rooted to the bottom of the league table along with Tullamore and the seaside town of Bray with all three described as “seriously littered”.

Only 50 towns were included in this survey –

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Oranmore – as made famous in the song “The Galway Shawl” came fifth in our league table of the BEST towns in Ireland to live.
Our top 20 chart was based on census figures from 2006 and was compiled using statistics on Education, Housing, Lone Parents, IT, Unemployment to analyse all the towns. Only towns with populations over 1500 were included. This is not intended as a tourist guide – just an indication of the best towns to live in.
At the 2006 census – the population of Oranmore was just 3513 .
Many of the residents probably work in Galway City and the  unemployment rate in Oranmore was only 4.56% – which is below  the national average in Ireland of 5.89%
In Oranmore – only 1.51% of the workforce are unable to work because of disability or ill health – which is well below the Irish census average of 4.71% .

Most workers in Oranmore are are employed in technical or professional jobs (24% of the workforce)
Lone parents- make up 12.22% of households in Oranmore – this is two thirds of the national average which is 19.29%.

Housing: Local Authority rented homes make up just 1.3% of the dwelling units in Oranmore. This is about an eighth of the average for Irish towns of 9.06.
Rented homes in Oranmore make up 30% of all homes in the town – which is just over the national average of 28.1%.
Of the homes in Oranmore – 14.5% are owned outright – with no mortgage outstanding – This is half the average for Ireland as a whole which is 28%. This is due to the mostly new homes and yoiunger occupants. In Oranmore the population ages 24 to 44 makes up 48.73% of the population – this is well above the Irish population as a whole which is 34% in that age group.
Central Heating is not installed in 6.64% of dwellings in Oranmore – which is a lot better than the national average of 10.2%.

Information Technology. : 63.18% of households own personal computers in Oranmore – compared to 53.3% nationally. Broadband connections were at 27.8% in Oranmore in 2006 . This is about 30% over the national avearge which was a poor 20.18% .  41% of homes had no internet access at all in Oranmore – compared to the national average of 51%

Education : Education levels of Oranmore residents is the best in Ireland . This doesn’t mean the schools are the best – just that people who live here or moved here for work have a good education . In Oranmore just 4.64% of the people were only educated to primary school level or had no formal education at all. This is way below he national average of 16.72%.  People with a third level degree or a higher qualification – make up 38.35% of the Oranmore workforce – which is the highest in any Irish town. and over double the national average of 16.57%.
Community involvement in Oranmore is about the same as the average for the country – 15.9% of the over 15s said they carried out some sort of voluntary work.

The percentage of people with a disability in Oranmore is below the national average of 9.8% at 5%.

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 A Litter League of all towns with more than 6000 population in Ireland had the 1st round of results published today.

The top 10 towns were

1 Ennis
2 Greystones
3 Fermoy
4 Portlaoise
5 Howth
6 Dungarvan
7 Dundalk
8 Letterkenny
9 Thurles
10 Clonmel

The litter figures are produced by ” Irish Business Against Litter ” – an alliance of companies sharing a belief that continued economic prosperity – notably in the areas of tourism, food and direct foreign investment – is contingent on a clean, litter-free environment.
As part of the IBAL Anti-Litter League, An Taisce monitors all towns of population 6,000 and over, independently in accordance with international grading standards.

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Greystones came fifth in our league table of the BEST towns in Ireland .
Our top 20 chart was based on census figures from 2006 and was compiled using statistics on Education, Housing, Lone Parents, IT, Unemployment to analyse all the towns. Only towns with populations over 1500 were included.At the 2006 census – the population of Greystones was 14569 .The unemployment rate in Greystones was 3.1% – almost half the national average in Ireland of 5.89%
In Greystones – only 2.22% of the workforce are unable to work because of disability or ill health – which is again under half the national average of 4.71% .

Most workers in Greystones are are employed in management or clerical jobs (27% of the workforce)
Lone parents- make up 15.81% of all households in Greystones – this is just below the national average which is 19.29%

Housing: Local Authority rented homes make up 4.64% of the dwelling units in Greystones about half of the average for Irish towns of 9.06% of Council houses.

Rented homes in Greystones make up 15.86% of all homes in the town – which is just over half of the national average of 28.1%.
More than a quarter of all homes (27.56%) in Greystones are owned outright – with no mortgage outstanding – This is similar to the average for Ireland as a whole which is 28%.Central Heating is not installed in just 4.85% of dwellings in Greystones – which is better than the national average of 10.2%.

Information Technology. : 72% of households own personal computers in Greystones – compared to 53.3% nationally. Broadband connections were at 36.3% in Greystones in 2006 about 75% above the national average which was a fairly poor 20.18% .
33% of homes had no internet access at all in Greystones – compared to the national average of 51%.
Education : Just 8.24% of the people living in Greystones were only educated to primary school level or had no formal education at all. This is half the national average of 16.72%. eople with a third level degree or a higher qualification – make up 33% of the Greystones workforce – which is more than double the national average of 16.57%.

Community involvement in Greystones is above the average for the country – 19% of the over 15s said they carried out some sort of voluntary work.The percentage of people with a disability in Greystones is below the national average of 9.8% at 8.6%.

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Annacotty came fourth in our league table of the BEST towns in Ireland .
Our chart is based on census figures from 2006 and was compiled using statistics on Education, Housing, Lone Parents, IT, Unemployment . Only towns with populations over 1500 were included.At the 2006 census – the population of Annacotty was 1839 .The unemployment rate in Annacotty was just 2%- well below the national average in Ireland of 5.89%
In Annacotty – 8.53% of the workforce are unable to work because of disability or ill health – which is almost double the national average of 4.71% .

Most workers in Annacotty are are employed in professional or technical jobs (33.14% of the workforce).
Lone parents- make up only 8.27% of all households in Annacotty – this is under half of the national average which is 19.29%

Housing: Local Authority rented homes make up only 1.1% of the dwelling units in Annacotty the third lowest in the country and way below the average of 9.06% of Council houses.Rented homes in Annacotty make up 22.92% of all homes in the town – which is 20% below the national average of 28.1%.
Just 15.2% of houses in Annacotty are owned outright – with no mortgage outstanding – well below the average for Ireland as a whole which is 28%.

Central Heating is installed in 98.6% of all dwellings in Annacotty – which is higher than the national average of 89.8%.

Information Technology. : 73% of households own personal computers in Annacotty – compared to 53.3% nationally. Broadband connections were at 35% in Annacotty in 2006 about 75% above the national avearge which was a poor 20.18% .
37.665% of homes had no internet access at all in Annacotty – compared to the national average of 51%

Education : Annacotty residents are quite well educated – 13.3% of the people living in Annacotty – were only educated to primary school level or had no formal education at all. This is better than the national average of 16.72%. People with a third level degree or a higher qualification – make up 37% of the Annacotty workforce – which is more than double the national average of 16.57%.

Community involvement in Annacotty is average for the country – 15.4% of the over 15s said they carried out some sort of voluntary work.The percentage of people with a disability in Annacotty is above the national average of 9.8% at 12.9%.

See the list of best and worst locations in Ireland Here 

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How are the figures obtained?

Each year the Irish Times puts together some figures of each secondary school’s Leaving Cert students and combines them with figures from Third Level institutions in Ireland . . The Universities and Colleges record which school the first year students were enrolled at in the previous year. The two sets of figures combined give us some idea of the percentages of Leaving Cert students from each school that are entering Third Level education in Ireland. A league table is produced of all the secondary schools in Ireland . Of course – these figures are not a full indication of a schools’ performance – but it is all we have. The figures don’t include students who go on to Universities outside the Republic of Ireland. But in the absence of any Irish Government school performance figures – it is all we have to help pick out schools that might be better or worse than others at preparing students for qualifying for entry to University or other 3rd level education.

The 2007 figures showed a few schools with 100% of Leaving Cert pupils going on to third level in Ireland.

Coláiste Iosagain, Stillorgan, Co Dublin
Yeats College, Galway
Jesus & Mary Secondary School, Salthill, Galway
St Joseph’s, Nun’s Island, Galway
Tralee Community College, Co Kerry
St Francis Capuchin College, Rochestown, Cork
Scoil Na Mbraithre, Charleville, Co Cork
Coláiste Eoin, Stillorgan, Co Dublin
Colaiste Na Coiribe, Tuam Rd, Galway
Institute of Education, Dublin 2
CBS, Mitchelstown, Co Cork
Holy Rosary College, Mountbellew, Co Galway
Scoil Mhuire, Sydney Place, Cork
Colaiste Mhuire, Ballygar, Co Galway
St Ita’s, Abbeyfeale, Co Limerick
Coláiste Iascaigh, Easkey, Co Sligo

Galway and Cork schools seemed to do well in this schools league table .

Other top schools with over 90% entry to Irish 3rd level institutions

Blackrock College, Co Dublin
Scoil Mhuire, Carrick On Suir, Co Tipperary
Mount Mercy College, Cork
Loreto High School, Beaufort, Dublin 14
St Joseph of Cluny, Killiney, Co Dublin
Loreto, Foxrock, Dublin 18
Gaelcholaiste Cheatharlach, Easca, Carlow
Hamilton High School, Bandon, Co Cork
Gonzaga College, Dublin 6
CBC, Monkstown, Co Dublin
Scoil Damhnait, Achill, Co Mayo
Laurel Hill Coláiste FCJ, Limerick
Mount Anville School, Dublin 14
Colaiste An Phiarsaigh, Glanmire, Cork
St Vincent’s, Dundalk, Co Louth
Loreto College, St. Stephens Green, Dublin 2
Tarbert Comprehensive, Co Kerry
Presentation College, Mardyke, Cork
Terenure College, Dublin 6w
Glenstal Abbey, Co Limerick
The Teresian School, Dublin 4
Summerhill College, Sligo
L. S. U., Our Lady’s Bower, Athlone, Co Westmeath
Mean Scoil Na Toirbhirte, An Daingean, Co Kerry
St Mary’s College, Rathmines, Dublin 6
Mount St Michael, Claremorris, Co Mayo
Clochar Loreto, Letterkeny, Co Donegal
CBS, Roscommon
Muckross Park College, Dublin 4
Community School, Dunmore, Tuam, Co Galway
Coláiste Choilm, Ballincollig, Co Cork
St Andrew’s College, Blackrock, Co Dublin
Colaiste Iognaid, Galway
Presentation Secondary, Listowel, Co Kerry
St Gerard’s, Bray, Co Wicklow
Ursuline College, Finisklin, Sligo
Colaiste Choilm, Tullamore, Co Offaly
Gaelcholaiste Chiarrai, Tralee, Co Kerry
Ardscoil Mhuire, Ballinasloe, Co. Galway
Cistercian College, Roscrea, Co. Tipperary
Sandford Park School, Dublin 6
St. Louis Community School, Kiltimagh, Co. Mayo
Ard Scoil Phobal Bheanntrai, Bantry, Co Cork
Coláiste Daibhéid, An T-Ardán Theas, Corcaigh

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Carrick-on-Suir was the fourth worst town in our chart of the worst place to live in Ireland . Based on census 2006 information we have compiled a top 20 list of the best and worst places to live in  Ireland. Of course people will disagree with these positions – but they are based on facts and figures like unemployment, housing, lone parents and education.At the 2006 census 2006 – the population of Carrick-on-Suir was 5906 .The unemployment rate was 9.59% -  this compares badly with a National Average of 5.92% and was the 6th highest rate of unemployment in Ireland
In Carrick-on-Suir – 6.66% of the workforce are unable to work because of disability or ill health – which is  over the national average of 4.71% .
Of those people in work – the largest proportion are employed in manufacturing (20% of the workforce) .Lone parent households in Carrick-on-Suir- make up 26.86% of all households. This is the 5th highest in Ireland and about 25% above the National average of 19.29%

Local Authority rented homes make up 15.57% of the dwelling units in Carrick-on-Suir – the ninth highest percentage in Ireland.
Rented homes make up 34.45% of all homes in Carrick-on-Suir – slightly above the average for Ireland of 28.1%.
28% of occupied houses in Carrick-on-Suir are owned outright – with no mortgage outstanding – the same as the average for Ireland as a whole.

Heating: 10.93% of all dwellings in Carrick-on-Suir have no central heating – which is aroud the same as the rest of the country (10.22%).
I.T. : 40.98% of households own personal computers in Carrick-on-Suir – compared to 53.3% nationally. Only 13.6% had broadband at the last census – much lower than the Irish average at the time of 20.18% . Also – 67.4% of homes had no internet access at all in Carrick-on-Suir – compared to the average of 51%

Education : 22.43% of the people living in Carrick-on-Suir – only went as far as primary school or had no formal education at all. This is very close to 40% above the national average of 16.72%.
People with a third level degree or a higher qualification – make up just 6.76% of the Carrick-on-Suir workforce – which is less than half the national average of 16.57%

Community involvement in Carrick-on-Suir is just below the average for the country. In Carrick-on-Suir 15.3% of the over 15s said they carry out some sort of voluntary work compared to the national average of 15.42%

The percentage of people with a disability in Carrick-on-Suir is above the national average of 9.8% at 12.2%.

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