PART 1: SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHICS

Family Structure

Single-parent families tend to have much lower incomes than two-parent families.6

Measure

The number of children under 18 who live in family household units with only one parent or primary care-giver resident.

Key findings

  • In 2006, 183,744 children under 18 years of age lived with a lone parent or guardian (see Table 15). This amounted to 17.8% of all children living in the country.

Table 15: Number and percentage of children under 18 living with lone parent, by gender and age (2006)

Age Boys Girls Total
>
 No. % No. % No. %
>0-4 years 25,902 16.8 24,750 16.8 50,652 16.8
>5-9 years 25,177 17.0 23,773 17.0 48,950 17.0
>10-14 years 16,157 11.6 15,575 11.7 31,732 11.6
>15-17 years 26,884 30.8 25,526 30.8 52,410 30.8
>Total 94,120 17.8 89,624 17.8 183,744 17.8

Source: Census of the Population, CSO

  • In 2006, one in 3 children (33.7%) in lone-parent families were resident in the Dublin area and one in 10 (10.1%) in Cork (see Table 16).
  • Dublin was the county with the highest percentage of children living in lone-parent households, while Leitrim, Longford and Roscommon had the lowest percentage.

Table 16: Number and percentage of children under 18 living with lone parent, by county (2006)

County No. % within county % within State
Carlow 2,248 17.7 1.2
Cavan 1,988 11.6 1.1
Clare 3,933 13.8 2.1
Cork 18,639 16.1 10.1
Donegal 6,858 17.1 3.7
Dublin 61,903 23.9 33.7
Galway 7,909 14.4 4.3
Kerry 5,076 15.5 2.8
Kildare 7,830 15.5 4.3
Kilkenny 3,077 13.6 1.7
Laois 2,453 13.6 1.3
Leitrim 810 11.4 0.4
Limerick 8,188 19.0 4.5
Longford 1,664 18.6 0.9
Louth 5,915 20.3 3.2
Mayo 3,902 12.6 2.1
Meath 5,403 12.1 2.9
Monaghan 1,885 13.1 1.0
Offaly 2,892 15.2 1.6
Roscommon 1,679 11.6 0.9
Sligo 2,157 14.9 1.2
Tipperary 6,263 16.5 3.4
Waterford 5,378 20.1 2.9
Westmeath 3,477 16.7 1.9
Wexford 6,332 18.2 3.4
Wicklow 5,885 18.2 3.2
State 183,744 17.8 100.0

Source: Census of the Population, CSO

  • In 2006, 27.6% (50,652) of children in lone-parent families were aged 0-4; 26.6% (48,950) were aged 5-9; 17.3% (31,732) were aged 10-14; and the remaining 28.5% (52,410) were aged 15-17 (see Figure 4).

Figure 4: Percentage of children under 18 living with lone parent (2006)

figure 4

Source: Census of the Population, CSO

 

Technical notes
Figures are based on place of usual residence rather than de facto presence on Census night.

Part 1

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6 Layte, R., Maître, B., Nolan, B. and Whelan, C.T. (2006) Day In, Day Out: Understanding the Dynamics of Child Poverty. Dublin: Combat Poverty Agency.