Wexford is a maritime County located in South East Ireland.
It occupies an area of 2,353.19 sq km ranging from slob lands in the east to the foothills of the Blackstairs Mountains in the west and includes some of the finest agricultural land in Ireland.

Surrounding Counties include Wicklow, Carlow, Kilkenny and Waterford

Wexford is within 88 miles or two hours drive of two thirds of the population of Ireland, highlighting its accessible nature. The County covers 3% of the total landmass of Ireland and it is the largest county in Leinster. The landscape of Wexford ranges from rolling countryside to mountains and from forests to rugged natural landscape. In the mountainous northwest, the highest point is Mount Leinster. The county boasts over 200 km of coastline with two major shipping ports at Rosslare and New Ross, and a fishing fleet based in Kilmore Quay. The Slaney and Barrow are the principal rivers in the County. Bannow Bay and Wexford Harbour are the chief inlets  

       
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POPULATION

With a 1996 population of over 104,000, Wexfrod is home to almost 3% of the country's population.Excluding those with major cities,Wexford is the sixth largest county in Ireland. Since the establishment of the State, Wexford's population has fluctuated as follows: (figures have been rounded)

(Source: Central Statistics Office 1996 Census)

The County's recent population growth (up by over 5% since 1981) has been due to a significant rise in the birth rate and inward migration. It has also been a largely suburban phenomenon, with town centre and rural populations displaying low growth. Between 1981 and 2001 the County recorded an estimated population increase of over 5,400 people, and a further increase of 9,000 people for 2006 (Bacon & Associates). Wexford is a largely rural County with less than a third of the population living in towns of 1,500 people or more. Although Wexford town provides the county's population hub, the overall population is reasonably well distributed across the County's four electoral areas: The age structure of the population in 1996 can be summarised as follows:

(Source: Central Statistics Office 1996 Census)

The key difference here lies in Wexford's significantly higher proportion of older people. Finally, average family size in Wexford is, at 3.26 persons, slightly larger than the national average of 3.14.

       
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ECONOMY

The structure of Wexford's economy in employment terms in 1996 can be summarised and compared with the national picture as follows:

The main issues here for Wexford are the relative importance of agriculture to the local economy and under- representation of both professional services and the public sector. The County has as yet failed to maximise the potential of Rosslare Europort to act as a major catalyst for economic development in the County.

Wexford's main single industry is agriculture which provides work for one person in five in the County as opposed to one in ten nationally. The key features of farming locally are:

• farms are large, averaging 35 hectares, some 40% above the national average
• most farmers, 88%, rely solely on farming for their income
• most farms combine dairying; beef; sheep; and/or tillage in some combination a third of farmers are aged 45 or under

(Source: Wexford Organisation for Rural Development Survey)

Wexford's manufacturing and industrial base has traditionally been in `old economy' sectors, which typically have the following characteristics :

• low productivity

• low value added

• low level of export orientated growth

• lower levels of employment

(Source: Central Statistics Office Annual Labour Force Surveys)

The County's Gross Value Added (GVA) - a measure which essentially identifies income arising from economic activity --was, in 1995, at £6,000 per capita the third lowest in the county:

County Wexford's relative position in relation to incomes per capita has markedly deteriorated since the 1960's. In 1960 for example the County was well within the top half of counties in the state in terms of income levels.

More recently, 1995/96 data from the Revenue Commissioners showed Wexford incomes to be at 88% of the national average whilst three years later in 1998/99, they had fallen to 76% of the national average. Over the same period uptake of Family Income Supplement in the County has increased by more than 40%.

Unemployment meanwhile persists as a core Wexford issue. During the 1990's, the Live Register figures in Co.Wexford fell by over 2,000 persons (Source: CSO) Whilst the trend in the Live Register is a downward one, its rate of reduction in the County (i.e. 25% in the last decade) is below that experienced nationally over the last decade (i.e. almost 40%), and the current Wexford rate of unemployment at 6.5% is above the national rate of 4.5%.

WEXFORD: SELECTED ECONOMIC INDICATORS

(Source: Central Statistics Office Annual Labour Force Surveys)

       
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SOCIETY

In many ways Wexford is a socially and culturally robust place. Much of this can be tied back to its strong rural base, where communities tend to be stable and where social and kinship patterns remain strong.

The County does however have its share of what can broadly be called social issues and concerns. Not all of these can be even summarised here but among the key ones are: (Sources
in brackets):

• below the national average turnouts in elections (DoELG)
• low educational achievement: for example, 57% of the population has left school without a Leaving Certificate (or equivalent) compared with 49% of the population nationally (1996 Census)
• significant Traveller and asylum seeker populations with their own specific needs and aspirations
• on a nation-wide deprivation index (where a score of 10 means a County is among the most
  deprived 10% in the country) Wexford's score deteriorated from 6.2 to 6.6 between 1991 and
  1996: the national score meanwhile improved, from 5.1 to 4.6 (Hasse Index of Deprivation)
• In line with every other county, it is estimated that 10% of the population has some form of
  disability (Commission for the Status of People with Disabilities)
• the incidence of births to single mothers is slightly ahead of the national average
• it is likely that eight out of every ten 15-17 year olds have taken alcohol ... and between a quarter and a third have tried drugs ... with one in eight using them on a weekly basis
  (Source: County Based Drugs Initiative).
  

WEXFORD: SELECTED SOCIAL INDICATORS

       
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INFRASTRUCTURE

Like most of Ireland, Wexford's transport infrastructure is roads- dominated.
Major planned roads improvements include:

Rail transport is also socially and economically important to the county with 0.5 million passengers a year using the Wexford-Dublin line. The condition of parts of the line, combined with signalling difficulties, imposes speed restrictions however, thereby reducing both the effectiveness and the attractiveness of the rail system. Planned
improvements should remedy these problems.

Substantial improvements are also planned for the county's water supply and sewerage infrastructure. Projects to the value of 135 million Euros have been identified by the County Council for inclusion in the National Development Plan, 2000 - 2006. A particular issue concerns the leakage of water from outdated pipe systems.

Finally, telecommunications are seen as the fourth major component of Wexford's physical infrastructure. County Wexford is a key landing point for three high capacity broadband cables, which will ensure connectivity to the international telecommunications network.

Wexford will be part of the initial roll-out of the new broadband communications network.

This will provide excellent local broadband infrastructure in the four main urban centres of the County, and will be a key resource for leveraging future economic growth in the digital age.

       
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ENVIRONMENT

Wexford's combination of coast; mountains; and quality farmland produce an environment that is attractive yet fragile and susceptible to damage. The largely pleasant local climate adds to its potential attractiveness, thereby increasing the risk of damage. Almost 6% of the County, a total of 16,370 hectares, is forested: this compares with the national average of 9%. The key environmental issue for the County, as for the Country, is to plan and achieve progress in ways that are environmentally sustainable.

SERVICES

Wexford County Development Board conducted an audit of existing public services in County Wexford, which was central to the CDB's analytical work. In Wexford the key service areas, and the corresponding key public service providers, were found to be:

       
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Among the strategic conclusions reached as a result of the audit were:

• providers target and deliver services on different bases
• some groups are served by a range of providers
• the community and voluntary sectors provide many services, but often in hidden or
  unacknowledged ways
• in a rural County, access to services is for many people the most critical issue.

Perhaps most importantly it became clear that most, if not all, of the major issues facing Wexford and its people - for example education; social inclusion; or economic well-being - require a multi-agency approach.

Wexford Fact:

in an An Taisce assessment of litter levels in 29 major towns across Ireland, published in March 2002, Wexford town came out joint first, earning a "Litter Free" classification.

       
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