House costs force people in 30s to live with parents

THERE has been an almost 40% increase in the number of people in their 30s still living at home with their parents.

The Central Statistics Office believes the exorbitant cost of housing is the main reason for this.

Economic reasons are also believed to be the most likely factor influencing a dramatic increase in the number of childless young couples.

Census 2002 figures released by the CSO yesterday show:

42,500 people aged in their 30s are still living at home with their parents, up 39% on the last census figures in 1996.

Those aged in their 20s living with their parents increased by 13.7% over the 1996-2002 period.

A 10% increase in the number of married and cohabiting women in the 25 to 34 age group who had no children in 2002, compared to 1996.

Households without children is the fastest growing category of family household, up from 169,300 in 1996 to 228,600 in 2002 a rise of nearly 35%.

Francis McCann, one of the CSO statisticians who compiled the report, said the cost of housing was forcing people in their 30s to stay at home with their parents. Males accounted for nearly two-thirds of these.

"It is likely the increased cost of buying a house or apartment is forcing older offspring to stay with their parents," Mr McCann said.

"Economics are also likely to be the major factor in women deciding either not to have children or delaying starting a family," he said.

Earlier this week a survey by Hibernian insurance company revealed that it costs at least 54,000 to educate each child from primary school through to university.

The latest CSO figures are contained in Census 2002 Volume 3, the final analysis of the census carried out on April 28 last year.

The towns with the largest number of childless families are Kinsale, Co Cork, and Carrick-on-Shannon in Leitrim. Over a third of all families in these towns had no children when the census was carried out in April 2002. For the State as a whole, 25% of families had no children.

In Ballinrobe, Co Mayo, Dunmore East, Co Waterford, Sallins, Co Kildare, and Boyle, Co Roscommon, 32% of families had no children.

At the other end of the scale, Portmarnock, in Co Dublin, emerged as the town with the highest proportion of families with children at 74%, followed by the Meath towns of Rathoath (73%), Dunboyne (73%) and Dunshaughlin (72%).

The report also shows a continuing fall in the average number of people per household down from 3.14 in 1996 to 2.95 in 2002, which is a continuation of a long-term decline. The average size in 1946 was 4.16. The average number of children per family has fallen from 2.2 in 1981 to 1.6 in 2002.

Single-person households rose by 15% (up 35,700) since 1996 and the number of lone-parent households increased from 125,500 in 1996 to 150,600 in 2002. Two-thirds of lone-parent households were in urban areas.