Most couples planning to have children would have done so by now were it not for the housing crisis, according to a new survey from Accord, the Catholic marriage guidance agency.
Of 1,000 people surveyed across the Republic last month, 84 per cent said the shortage of homes is causing couples to delay marriage or starting a family. Women were more likely give this response, with 89 per cent saying this, compared to 79 per cent of men.
The results were described as “striking” by Tony Shanahan, director of Accord. He said the survey, which was carried out by Amárach Research, reveals the extent to which the lack of housing supply affects couples wishing to marry and have children.
Some 60 per cent of participants who plan to have children said they would have taken this step before now if it was not for the housing crisis. More than a third (36 per cent) said they would have done so in the past three years.
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On marriage, 48 per cent of couples planning to wed said they would have done so if there was no housing crisis. A third said they would have married in the past three years.
Mr Shanahan said the findings highlight “serious social implications now and into the future”.
“The hope that young people hold for a married life together and to start a family needs to be underpinned by certainty in a functioning and affordable housing market,” he said.
The Catholic marriage guidance agency also reported that 5,194 couples participated in its marriage preparation courses last year, down from the 7,281 couples who did so in 2023. All couples seeking a Catholic wedding ceremony must attend an Accord marriage course.
According to the latest available data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO), there were 21,159 marriages in Ireland in 2023, including 646 same-sex marriages.
While the number of marriages fell by 8.7 per cent in 2023 compared with 2022, it exceeded pre-pandemic 2019 figures (20,313) by 4.2 per cent.
Roman Catholic marriage ceremonies accounted for 35 per cent of opposite-sex ceremonies, while civil ceremonies were performed for 32 per cent of couples.
CSO data also shows births in Ireland fell from 68,930 in 2013 to 54,678 in 2023.
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