Media Statistics
Key facts about One Family:
- One Family has been supporting one-parent families in Ireland for 35 years.
- One Family Services provide direct training and support to one-parent families.
- One Family Policy works for fundamental change in Ireland, lobbying to ensure equality for one-parent families in Ireland.
- One Family believes that happy families build happy futures so we work continuously to empower lone parents to create positive futures for themselves and their families.
Key facts about one-parent families in Ireland:
- 1 in 8 people in Ireland live in a one-parent family (Census 2006).
- 1 in 6 families in Ireland is a one-parent family (Census 2006.)
- Nearly half a million people live in one-parent families (Census 2006).
- The number of one-parent families increased by 35,350 since 2002 (Census 2006)
- The number of lone-parent families with children under 18 years of age increased by 41% between 2002 and 2006.
- 14 per cent of one-parent families are headed by a father (Census 2006).
- 1 in 5 children live in a one-parent family (Census 2006).
- 8% of one-parent families have a child with a disability compared to 5% of two-parent families
- There are 190,000 one-parent families in Ireland today – 18 per cent of all families (Census 2006).
- One-parent families are at greater risk of poverty than most other families. You are 4.5 times more likely to live in poverty if you live in a one-parent family (EU-SILC 2006).
- 10 per cent of one-parent families are living ‘with other persons’ (Census 2006).
- Overall in 2006, 36 per cent of lone parents were single, 30 per cent were separated or divorced and 29 per cent were widowed.
Key Facts about the One-Parent Family Payment:
- 84,364 people are currently receiving the One-Parent Family Payment (December 2007). This has increased from 59,000 in 1997.
- 76.7% of current recipients are unmarried; 11.7% separated; 7.6% divorced; 3% deserted
- 98% of recipients are women
- 60% of those receiving the OPFP are in employment
- 58% of recipients have one child; 27% have two children; 10% have three children
- The percentage of OPFP recipients under 30 years of age is falling (41.6%)
- The percentage of OPFP recipients over 30 is increasing (currently 58.4%)
- The number of teenage mothers fell from 4.4% in 1997 to 2.2% in 2007
- 29, 600 OPFP recipients (35%) are on reduced personal rate due to income- vast majority down to earnings
Social Welfare Facts & Figures
One-parent family Stats by County
