Every generation is entitled to expect a better life than the one that went before, and every parent wants this for their children.
But in Ireland in recent years, it has often felt like the “Millennial” generation missed out on that particular birthright. While their “Baby Boomer” parents queued up for city breaks funded by gold-plated pensions, they slunk off to their yellow-pack jobs, nursed their negative equity and bore the cost of the country’s socialised debt.
Yet the results of a Family Values survey, conducted by Ipsos MRBI on behalf of The Irish Times, suggest this is a bit of a cliche. The poll shows that Irish people across all age groups consider they are living easier lives than their parents’ generation.
This is true across a range of headings. Eighty-three per cent say their quality of life is better than their parents’ was; 88 per cent say they’re better educated; and a narrower 56 per cent feel more financially secure.
The quality of family relationships is also on the up. Two-thirds say relationships between fathers and children have improved since their parents’ time, and more than half of respondents believe relations between mothers and children are better.
The picture is a bit less rosy for couples: just 42 per cent think relationships between husbands and wives have improved since their parents’ time, and 22 per cent say they have worsened. But 33 per cent reckon they are about the same.
And spouses or partners remain the most important figures in most people’s lives, the survey found. They are the people we spend most time with and are most likely to share a problem with.
Friends come next in importance – above parents, siblings or children – suggesting that family ties are less strong than platonic and romantic ones. This is even truer for single people, who are most likely to name friends, not family members, as their most significant relationship.
And if we think we have it better than our parents, most of us also retain great expectations for the generation below us. In 20 or 30 years time, standards of education will have improved, say 70 per cent of respondents, and standards of living will be higher, say 57 per cent.
But just 42 per cent reckon the next generation will be more financially secure. Maybe we’ll be feeling the effects of that socialised debt for some time to come.
