Greater Dublin Area (GDA) (Irish: Mórcheantar Bhaile Átha Cliath), or simply Greater Dublin, is a term which is used to describe the city of Dublin and various counties in the hinterland of the city in Ireland. The term has no basis in law and no local government, department of government or agency of the state is bound by the term. The term does not have a commonly understood definition as it can mean either:
or it may refer to
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The urban part of Dublin and surrounding areas has been defined by various statutory instruments, mainly those referring to the Garda Síochána and Courts of the Republic of Ireland. However, since 2009, the Garda Division of the Dublin Metropolitan Area no longer overlaps, if it ever did, with the Greater Dublin Area; it is instead co-extensive with the Dublin Region. The city and five counties were mentioned in the order creating the Dublin Transportation Office, giving functions and representations to the office in the Greater Dublin Area, although not using the term. The office was purely advisory and had no executive powers. The term was also defined in section 3 of the Dublin Transportation Authority Bill, 2008. This bill was never enacted. On 1 December 2009 the DTO was dissolved so this term, if it ever had legal significance, ceased to have relevance as far as the DTO is concerned.[1]
The population of the Greater Dublin Area (using the second definition of Dublin City, Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown, Fingal, South Dublin, Kildare, Meath and Wicklow) as of Census 2011 was 1,801,040 persons. [2] This equates to 39.3% of Ireland's population. Estimates published by the Central Statistics Office suggest that the population will reach 2.1 million by 2021, and 2.4 million by 2026.[3] The figures are based on a regional breakdown of previously published national population projections and assume that current demographic trends will continue.
The CSO also uses the first definition which comprises Dublin City (as legally defined) together with its suburbs in the three adjacent counties of Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown; Fingal; and South Dublin. [4] The boundaries for suburbs are not legally defined, but drawn and revised by the CSO in accordance with United Nations recommendations.[5] The population of the Dublin urban area in 2006 was as follows: [6]
| Total | 1,045,769 |
| City | 506,211 |
| Suburbs | |
| – in Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown | 188,761 |
| – in Fingal | 114,623 |
| – in South Dublin | 236,174 |
This is also known as the Dublin Urban Area.
| Census Year | Population[7] | Proportion† |
|---|---|---|
| 1841 | 683,232 | 10.5% |
| 1851 | 740,597 | 14.5% |
| 1861 | 698,050 | 15.9% |
| 1871 | 663,131 | 16.4% |
| 1881 | 652,569 | 16.9% |
| 1891 | 628,539 | 18.1% |
| 1901 | 640,093 | 19.9% |
| 1911 | 669,625 | 21.3% |
| 1926 | 685,242 | 23.1% |
| 1936 | 774,791 | 26.1% |
| 1946 | 827,725 | 28.0% |
| 1961 | 906,347 | 32.2% |
| 1971 | 1,062,220 | 35.7% |
| 1981 | 1,290,154 | 37.5% |
| 1986 | 1,336,119 | 37.8% |
| 1991 | 1,350,595 | 38.3% |
| 1996 | 1,405,671 | 38.8% |
| 2002 | 1,535,446 | 39.2% |
| 2006 | 1,662,536 | 39.2% |
| 2011 | 1,801,040 | 39.3% |
† "Proportion" here means the proportion of people living in the GDA when compared with the number living in the territory that is the present-day Republic of Ireland.
The GDA is a part of the Southern and Eastern region within the "NUTS" system of the European Union although not recognised as a NUTS entity by Eurostat.