Report finds huge increase in Irish family breakdown

September 05, 2013

The Iona Institute of Dublin has released a report showing a catastrophic breakdown in Irish family life.

Using figures from the 2011 census in Ireland, the Iona Institute points to a 500% increase in the number of broken marriages in Ireland over the past 25 years. The figures also show steep increases in the number of couples living together before marriage, the number of children born outside of marriage, and the number of single-parent households.

In 1986, the report notes, married couples accounted for 85.5% of Irish family units; by 2011 that figure had dropped to 69.5%.

 

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Further information:

• Marriage Breakdown and Family Structure (Iona Institute)