Quarter of Irish children in one-parent homes

Ireland has the joint highest share of children living with one parent in the European Union, according to new research.

Figures from Eurostat, the EU’s statistics agency, showed that 23.2 per cent of children aged less than 18 years lived with a single parent in 2008.

This was equalled only by Latvia (23.3 per cent) and compared to an EU average of 13.6 per cent.

At the other end of the scale, only 4.8 per cent of children born in Greece lived with one parent.

The research provides a snapshot of the differences in the living arrangements of children across the 27 member states.

It showed that fewer Irish children (67.8 per cent) live with married parents, compared to an EU average of 73.8 per cent.

Only 7.4 per cent of Irish children were found to live with cohabiting parents - which included biological parents as well as step/adoptive or foster parents - compared to an EU average of 11.5 per cent.

Living with married parents was most common for children in Greece (91.8 per cent) and Cyprus (89 per cent) and least common for children in Estonia (54 per cent) and Sweden (54.4 per cent).

The figures showed that living with cohabiting parents was most common in Sweden (27.3 per cent) and least common in Cyprus (0.8 per cent) and Greece (2.1 per cent).

The number of children living without parents in Ireland is 1.6 per cent compared to an EU average of 1.2 per cent. Bulgaria (3.2 per cent) had the highest numbers of children living without parents and Luxembourg the lowest (0.2 per cent).

The study, which also assessed the living arrangements of people aged 65 and over, found significant differences between men and women.

The most common arrangement for men was to live with their partner in a two-person household, while for women it was most common to live alone.

In 2008, 60 per cent of men of this age group lived with their partner only, 20 per cent lived alone and another 20 per cent lived in a household with other persons, such as children or relatives, with or without their partner.

The living arrangements of women aged 65 revealed a different picture: 41 per cent lived alone, 37 per cent lived with their partner only and 21 per cent lived with others, with or without their partner.

The specific figures for Ireland were broadly consistent with the EU average; they showed 53.8 per cent of men, aged 65 and over, lived with their partner only, 23.4 per cent lived alone and 22.9 per cent live with others.

Nearly 39 per cent of Irish women in this age category live alone, 36.4 per cent lived with their partner only and 24.8 per cent live in a household with others.