Figures just released show that the number of non Irish nationals living in Fermoy was almost double the national average with unemployment figures also higher than average. The figures from the CSO from the 2011 census, showed that non-Irish nationals accounted for 22% of the population of the town compared with a national average figure of 12%. Polish with 699 persons were the largest group, followed by Brazilians with 129 persons.

Polish, unsurprisingly, given the figures, was also the most common foreign language spoken at home, with 684 speakers out of the town’s population at that time of 6,489 residents. The population was divided between 3,176 males and 3,313 females at the time of the census.

There were 2,451 private households in Fermoy in April 2011 of which 628 were single person households. Of the 1,712 families in the area, 503 were couples with no children. The average number of children per family was slightly lower than the national average at 1.3 compared to 1.4.

The unemployment rate for Fermoy was higher too at that time than the national average, standing at 22.4% compared with a rate of 19% nationally. Almost half of those working were employed outside the area and the largest number of those working in Fermoy, were employed in trade and commerce.

MITCHELSTOWN

In Mitchelstown the population in April 2011 stood at 3,677, 1,798 of whom were males and 1,879 females. Single person households made up the bulk of the 1,461 private households.  The average number of children was the same as Fermoy, at 1.4.

Non-Irish nationals accounted for 11.6% of the population, slightly under the national average. Of those the majority were Polish, followed by UK nationals. The unemployment rate for the area was 23.4%, higher than Fermoy and also higher than the national average. Again trade and commerce was the largest employer for those working. Most of those employed worked within the area.