90,000 over-30s live with their parents

The recession has created a new boomerang generation with more than 90,000 adult children in their 30s and 40s living with their parents.

Record unemployment, rising prices and difficulty getting on the property ladder may be factors behind the high numbers returning to the family home.

The figures, contained in Census 2011 results, reveal the changing face of families and households and show almost 440,000 people aged 18 or over now live with their parents. Six out of 10 are men.

Of the 440,000, 138,000 are students. However, the most revealing figure is the volume of over 30s — 91,000. Of those, the vast majority are men (63,271).

From 2002 to 2006, the number of adults in their 30s living at home fell from 70,707 to 65,693. Similarly, the numbers in their 20s living with their parents fell dramatically in this period. However, as the recession deepens, the numbers are back on the increase.

Elizabeth Kiely of the department of applied social studies at UCC said the rise in the number of adults living at home was not exclusive to Ireland. In Italy, almost one third of adults live with their parents.

“This trend of children living with their parents for longer or returning to live with parents is not only a trend in Ireland but also in many other countries. Increasingly in the discourse they are referred to rather disparagingly as ‘boomerang children’ or ‘kippers’ [kids in parents’ pockets eroding retirement savings].”

She stressed that factors other than the recession may be influencing the trend: “I am not sure it is entirely due to the recession, though lack of money, unemployment and difficulty buying or renting have to be key factors at present.

“However, participation rates in education and particularly higher education are high in Ireland.

“Parenting practices have changed so that adult children possibly can live more comfortably at home with less of the constraints that might have been imposed on adult children in the past, and adult children marry at later ages and have more fluid relationships and are thus less likely to feel pressured towards setting up independent households.”

The Census 2011 results also show the numberof people married increased almost 10% between 2006 and 2011. In the same period, there was a 9% spike in the number of divorces.

Similarly, the remarriage rate is also on the rise, with a six-fold increase recorded in five years. Men are much more likely to remarry, with 39% of divorced men being remarried, compared with just 28% of women.

Singletons also seem to be getting rarer in Ireland, with the percentage of those over 15 who were single (unmarried) falling from 43.1% to 41.7% or just over 1.5m people since 2006.

Galway City has the highest percentage of single people at 62.7%. Dublin City has the second highest at 60.7%.

Roscommon has the lowest at 50.3%.