The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (31 August 2023) released Census 2022 Profile 3 – Households, Families and Childcare. Profile 3 looks at the family situations and living arrangements of the population and the different types and sizes of family composition and household. Childcare arrangements (which was a new question on the Census 2022 form) are also detailed in this report. This press release highlights some of the main changes for Galway. A full list of county press releases is available.
| Kathleen Goulding | (+353) 1 895 1413 |
|---|---|
| Tony Downes | (+353) 1 895 1319 |
| censuspublicity@cso.ie | |
| pressoffice@cso.ie |
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Statistician's Comment
Commenting on the results, Deirdre Lynch, Statistician in the Census Division, said:
“Profile 3 shows us how our families and living arrangements are evolving and changing. It looks at changes in the numbers of families with and without children and the number of same-sex couples. The results show that the number of families has increased but the average number of children per family has fallen slightly, having remained unchanged in the previous two censuses. For the first time this profile also includes details of the numbers of children under 15 years of age in childcare as well as the types of childcare and the number of hours attended.”
Results for Galway
Families
There were 17,245 families in Galway City in April 2022, up from 16,844 (+2%) in 2016. The average number of children per family in the City was 1.19, compared with 1.34 nationally.
In County Galway there were 49,559 families compared with 46,524 in 2016 (+7%). The average number of children per family was 1.41, which was above the national average of 1.34.
Galway City’s families included 6,775 married couples with children and 1,011 cohabiting couples with children. A further 2,801 families with children were headed by single mothers and 409 by single fathers. There were also 3,998 married couples without children and 2,251 cohabiting couples without children.
There were 25,022 married couples with children in County Galway and 2,809 cohabiting couples with children. A further 6,960 families were headed by a single parent, including 1,154 families headed by a single father. There were also 12,030 married couples without children and 2,738 cohabiting couples without children.
The number of same-sex couples in Galway City in April 2022 increased to 254 compared with 138 in 2016. There were 221 same-sex couples in County Galway compared with 116 six years previously. Nationally, there were 10,393 same-sex couples.
There were 7,103 families in rented accommodation in the City (41%). This was a 1% decrease since 2016. The number of families in rented accommodation in the County also fell by 1%, to 8,059.
Private households and Living Alone
The average household size in Galway City in April 2022 was 2.62 people, which was below the national average (2.74 people). In contrast the average in County Galway was above this, at 2.81 people per household.
There were 7,505 people living alone in the city, which was up 9% since Census 2016. The number of people living alone in the county increased by 8% to 15,615.
There were 9,714 people aged 65 and over living in Galway City in April 2022. Of these 2,688 were living alone. This was a 28% increase in those aged 65 and over living alone.
In County Galway, 7,609 of the 30,224 people aged 65 and over were living alone. This was up 20% since 2016.
Adults Living with Their Parents
In April 2022 in Galway City, 5,896 adults, or 9% of all those aged 18 and over in the county, were still living with their parents. This was an increase of 598 (11%) since 2016.
There were 20,098 people aged 18 and over living with their parents in County Galway (14%). This was an increase of 2,511 (14%) since 2016.
Nationally, there were 522,486 adult children aged 18 years and above living with their parents (13%).
Overall, almost 25,000 adults living with their parents were unpaid carers. In Galway City, 363 (6%) were unpaid carers. In County Galway, 1,189 (6%) were unpaid carers.
In 2022, 24 was the youngest age at which the majority of people nationally were not living with their parents. This was up from 23 in 2011. In Galway City this was 19 years, while in County Galway it was 27 years.
Of all adults living with their parents nationally in 2022, 57% were male. In Galway City 55% were male, while 58% of adults living with their parents in the county were male.
In April 2022 one in 10 adults in the Galway City West Local Electoral Area (LEA) were living with their parents, the highest rate of any LEA in the city.
In County Galway, the Ballinasloe LEA had the highest rate, with 15% of those aged 18 and over living with their parents.
Childcare
There were 13,032 children (aged under 15) living in Galway City in April 2022. This was 207 fewer than in 2016. In County Galway there were 40,570 children under 15, which was 73 more than six years previously.
Nationally, there were 1,012,287 children aged under 15 (up 5,735 since 2016). Almost one in three – 331,783 – were in some form of childcare.
In Galway City, 4,085 (31%) of those aged under 15 were in childcare. There were 14,953 children in childcare in the county (37%).
More than half of those in childcare in Galway City were in a crèche / Montessori / playgroup / after school service (2,332 children, or 57%). There were 828 children being cared for by an unpaid relative or family member (20%). A further 423 children were being minded by a childminder in the minder’s home (10%).
There were 7,500 children in a crèche/Montessori/playgroup/after school service the county (50%). Another 22% (3,320 children) were being cared for by an unpaid relative or family member. There were also 2,549 children (17%) being cared for by a childminder (in the childminder’s home).