Press Statement

Preasráiteas

07 July 2021

Go to release: Pulse Survey - Life at Home 2021: Renters, Lone Parents and Adults Living Alone or with a Parent

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (07 July 2021) published the second of three planned reports from the CSO’s ‘Life at Home’ survey. First results from this survey were published on 22 June 2021:  Pulse Survey May - June 2021 - Life at Home: Snapshot of Results

Commenting on the report, Senior Statistician, Gerry Reilly, said: “The topics covered in this publication include insights and experiences of respondents who live alone, lone parents, persons sharing rented accommodation with unrelated housemates and adult children who live with a parent. Analysis is provided across key personal and household demographic characteristics, reflecting how these characteristics impact different people in different ways.”

Of those respondents who live alone Gerry Reilly commented: “Overall respondents who live alone in rented accommodation were less likely to say they ‘Enjoy their own company’, ‘Feel safe and secure in their own home’, ‘Have someone to count on if they have a serious personal problem’ and that they ‘Can get practical help if needed’ when compared with home owners who live alone.

Respondents living alone in rented accommodation were also more likely to say they feel lonely ‘All or Most of the time.”  See Chapter 2.

Highlights:

• Almost five in ten (47%) who live alone in rented accommodation said they are often under financial pressure. This is much higher than the rate for home owners with a mortgage who live alone (26%) and home owners who are mortgage free and live alone (22%).
• Almost nine in ten (88%) respondents who live alone and rated their health as ‘good’ or ‘very good’ said they have someone they can count on if they have a serious personal problem. The comparable rate for those with ‘fair’, ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’ health is 71%.
• Almost all respondents (98%) who live alone with only a dog as a pet said their dog has a positive effect on their mental health and wellbeing. The comparable rate for cat owners is just under nine in ten (88%).

Of those respondents who are lone parents, Gerry Reilly commented further:

“Overall, almost one in two (48%) lone parents said they often experience judgemental attitudes or exclusion as a lone parent. Lone parents in full-time employment and those who own their own dwelling were less likely to ‘often experience judgemental attitudes or exclusion as a lone parent’ when compared with lone parents not in full-time employment and those living in rented accommodation.”  See Chapter 3.

Highlights:

• For those with a third level degree or a higher qualification, 37% said they often experience judgemental attitudes or exclusion. For lone parents who do not have a degree the rate is much higher at 62%.
• Almost three in four (74%) lone parents told us they have someone to count on if they have a serious personal problem. This is lower than the 83% rate for respondents who live alone.
• Almost five in ten (48%) lone parents said they have someone to help them provide emotional support for their children.
• Almost two in three (64%) lone parents who are in full-time employment said they have access to suitable childcare. The comparable rate for those not in full-time employment is 43%.

Gerry Reilly observed that with respondents who do not live with a partner and share rented accommodation with unrelated housemates:

“Almost nine in ten (86%) male respondents living in all-male accommodation said they enjoy the company of their housemates. The comparable rate for female respondents in all-female accommodation is six in ten (63%).”  See Chapter 4.

Highlights:

• More than seven in ten (72%) who are in full-time employment and share rented accommodation with unrelated housemates feel they will never be in a position to own their own place.
• Respondents who share accommodation with housemates of the same sex are more likely to have a housemate that they can count on if they have a serious personal problem and they are less likely to feel lonely ‘All or Most of the time’.
• Six in ten (60%) female respondents in all-female accommodation have a housemate they can count on. This drops to 49% for females in mixed sex accommodation.
• Just over three in ten (31%) male respondents in all-male accommodation said they feel lonely ‘All or Most of the time’. This rate increases to 51% for males in mixed sex accommodation.
• Male respondents in all male accommodation were most likely to say they ‘Never’ disagree with their housemates.
• More than one in three (35%) males in all-male accommodation said they ‘Never’ disagree about sharing household chores compared to less than one in four (23%) females in all-female accommodation.
• Almost five in ten (48%) male and four in ten (39%) female respondents in same sex shared accommodation said they ‘Never disagree about using shared household facilities’ e.g. bathroom, cooking area and TV.

On respondents who live at home with a parent Gerry Reilly commented: “Respondents living with both parents were more likely to say the relationship with their parents has improved since the start of the COVID-19 crisis, whereas respondents living with just one parent were more likely to say the relationship with their parent has disimproved.”  See Chapter 5.

• Almost three in ten (28%) respondents who live with their father (and not their mother) said the relationship has disimproved since onset of the COVID-19 crisis and less than two in ten (19%) said the relationship has improved
• More than six in ten (62%) full-time employed respondents who live with a parent, said the reasons for living at home are mostly
• Almost six in ten (57%) said they enjoy living with their parent(s). In comparison, almost nine in ten (87%) parents who have an adult child living with them said they enjoy living with their adult child(ren).
• Almost nine in ten (88%) of those living with a parent said they would prefer to move out, whereas 50% of parents who live with an adult child would like the adult child(ren) to move out.
• More than five in ten (52%) feel their parents will not treat them like an adult until they move out.
• More than eight in ten (83%) full-time employed and six in ten (64%) part-time employed respondents who live with a parent said they contribute to household expenses.
• More than four in ten (44%) respondents living with both parents said their mother’s opinion mostly prevails when there is a disagreement between their parents double the amount (22%) that said it is their father’s opinion that mostly prevails.

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