Ireland forecast to have bigger population than Scotland by 2019

THE population of the Republic of Ireland will overtake Scotland in 14 years unless something is done to reverse demographic decline north of the Border, it was warned last night. The SNP claimed a rising population had brought Ireland growing prosperity, and said Scotland should learn from its Celtic neighbour. The opposition labelled the Scottish Executive’s policy to arrest the falling population as "believing in fairies". The population of the Republic, which stood at only 2.8 million in the 1970s, will rise to five million by 2019, official figures forecast. The Registrar General for Scotland, meanwhile, has predicted that the country’s population of 5.05 million could fall to 4.84 million by 2009. The SNP’s enterprise and economy spokesman, Jim Mather, said: "It is increasingly clear the Scottish Executive is clinging to a powerless policy agenda which is the equivalent of believing in fairies." The Executive aims to tackle population decline by attracting skilled migrants to Scotland, as well as retaining people already living and working north of the Border.