CSO survey shows hardship and discrimination continue for lone parents.

23 June 2021 

The CSO’s Pulse Survey May-June 2021 – Life at Home: Snapshot of Results shows hardship and discrimination continue for lone parents. Survey results show 68% of lone parents saying they are often under financial pressure while 41%* reported feeling lonely all or most of the time. While 48% of lone parents said they often experience judgemental attitudes or exclusion as a lone parent.

Karen Kiernan CEO of One Family said, “Unfortunately these statistics aren’t news for us. In our work with parents, we see the barriers that are put in place for parents every day from housing, education, and social welfare to access to vaccination centres. It seems our society is designed for two-parent families and anyone outside of this is excluded.”

“What is deeply saddening is that in the year of the publication the Mother and Baby Home Commission Report and the horrors that it revealed, 48% of lone parents still report they often experience judgemental attitudes or exclusion as a lone parent. Government needs to use the evidence in front of it to improve the lives of lone parents and their children in Budget 2022. They also need to change Article 41.3 of the Constitution on the definition of the family so that all families feel included in our society so any notion of stigma or shame is ended.”

*Due to a CSO processing error, the loneliness figure was originally reported as 59% this has now been corrected to 41%. Link here.

For Editors

One Family was founded in 1972 as Cherish and is Ireland’s national organisation for one-parent families and people sharing parenting or separating, offering support, information and services to all members of all one-parent families, to those sharing parenting, to those experiencing an unplanned pregnancy and to professionals working with one-parent families. Children are at the centre of One Family’s work and the organisation helps all the adults in their lives, including mums, dads, grandparents, step-parents, new partners and other siblings, offering a holistic model of specialist family support services.

For Interview:

Karen Kiernan, CEO | t: 086 850 9191

Further Information/Scheduling:

Noel Sweeney, Communications and Events Manager | t: 085 724 1294