Sean Duke: Lonely Ireland is not doing enough to tackle killer epidemic

Ireland is the loneliest country in the EU, but while others have appointed ministers to tackle this fatal problem, our Government has sat on its hands

An EU-wide study of loneliness conducted at the end of 2022 found that Ireland is the loneliest country in the bloc with 20% of people surveyed here reporting that they felt lonely most, or all of the time, over the past four weeks. File picture

The US Surgeon General has called loneliness a public health crisis, and an epidemic on a par with smoking and obesity. 

Ireland, which has been found to be the loneliest EU nation, is not doing enough to tackle something research has linked with heart disease, cancer, dementia, depression and suicidality.

It’s thought that loneliness evolved in our species as a way to ensure that we kept close and meaningful connections with each other, something that was essential for the group, as a whole, to survive. So, because loneliness made us feel bad, it forced even solitary-inclined people to seek the company of others.

The mortality risk from loneliness is comparable to smoking more than 15 cigarettes per day, and is more harmful than alcoholism, obesity and lack of physical activity, according to research published in 2024 from Indiana University School of Medicine and the Regenstrief Institute in the US.

An EU-wide study of loneliness conducted at the end of 2022 found that Ireland is the loneliest country in the bloc with 20% of people surveyed here reporting that they felt lonely most, or all of the time, over the past four weeks. The EU average is 13% with Spain and Holland lower at 9-10%.

A study of older people by Trinity College Dublin researchers, which emerged from the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA), involving people aged 50 and over, published last August reported that 4% of participants felt they would rather be dead, 10% had clinically significant levels of depression, and that loneliness was a particularly important risk factor for ‘death ideation’.

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Also in 2022, research from the Personality, Individual Differences and Biobehavioural Health Laboratory (Pathlab) at the University of Limerick linked loneliness with premature death in people with heart disease. Last week, Pathlab — led by Professor Páraic S. Ó Súilleabháin — reported that lonely people who also have suffered adverse childhood experiences — such as having an addicted parent, or sexual abuse — are at higher risk of premature death.

Meanwhile, ALONE — an organisation set up to help older people — says that 58% of those who come to them report loneliness, while 6% report that they are living in long-term social isolation, and rarely leave their own home.

Ireland's response

The response to the evidence that loneliness is a huge problem in Ireland deserving of an urgent government response, has been dispiriting. In 2018, a Loneliness Task Force was set up, and then in the following year, the then government allocated €3 million to fund interventions to combat loneliness.

This was done on a trial basis. In 2020 the pandemic hit, and the programme wasn’t carried forward. The commitments to tackle loneliness in programmes for government, were not upheld. 

As countries like the UK and Japan devised National Action Plans, allocated funding for their implementation and then appointed ministers responsible for the plans, Ireland just sat on its hands.

This inaction means that people in Ireland continue to die prematurely from loneliness-related deaths, and this is happening despite the weight of evidence showing how lethal loneliness is, and how big a problem it is in Ireland.

There is an urgent need for Ireland to formulate its own National Action Plan for Loneliness, and to have a minister appointed that is responsible for its effective implementation and oversight. This plan must be supported with sufficient funding, and the public awareness must be raised about its work.

Loneliness research

In 2024, ALONE and others founded the Loneliness Taskforce Research Network to establish links between researchers working on loneliness and ensure that the best scientific evidence is available, and that it’s acted on.

Certainly, more research is needed to determine the root causes of loneliness in Ireland, and how best it might be treated. At the moment, scientists can only speculate about why this country tops the EU loneliness table. The thinking is that our young, relatively rural population and our low investment in sports and cultural organisations could be key factors, but this requires research.

New approaches might be needed, says Dr Mark Ward, loneliness researcher at TILDA. The majority of interventions focus on connecting lonely people with others, says Dr Ward, through befriending services, joining community groups or using technology. This works for many, he says, but others might need to get a sense of purpose through volunteering, a physical activity or a hobby.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation launched a Commission for Social Connection (2024-26) in recognition of all the evidence that that loneliness and social isolation have serious impacts on physical and mental health, and to see the issue recognised and resourced as a global public health priority.

It’s time the Irish government got serious about loneliness. There is good work going on around the country to tackle the problem, but it is fragmented, and happening without clear directives, funding or support from the government. Appointing a minister with responsibility would be a good place to start.