Press Release | TASC Report Shows That One-Parent Families Have Least Wealth in Ireland
Press Release
One-Parent Families have by far the least wealth in Ireland
TASC report 2015 ‘The Distribution of Wealth in Ireland Today’
(Dublin, Wednesday 9th December 2015) One Family – Ireland’s organisation for people parenting alone and sharing parenting – reacts to the report released today by TASC on the distribution of wealth in Ireland.
Karen Kiernan, One Family CEO, comments: “Today’s TASC report shows that those with the lowest levels of wealth in Ireland are one-parent families. We at One Family witness the impact this has on the families we work with on a day to day basis. Parents are struggling to keep their heads above water and are becoming increasingly isolated as the gap between those who have and haven’t increases. The report shows that the average household has a net worth seven times greater than the average for a single parent household.”
Kiernan continues: “The report also show that more than half of all single parents have less than €300 in savings, compared to €4,000 for single person households. This puts these families in a precarious position should any unforeseen expenses arise. Our next Government must prioritise the dangerously high levels of poverty experienced by many children and parents living in one-parent families.”
The TASC report details the facts that one-parent families are:
- Less likely to own their own home and face significant barriers to owning property.
- Have business assets at 1/5 of the average rate of people in Ireland.
- Have savings of €300 on average, less than 10% of others.
- Have double the rates of debt to assets and are credit constrained at three times the rate of average households.
- The average household has a net worth seven times greater than the average for a single parent household.
- The average net wealth for a single parent is €30,600 which compares to an average figure of €218,700 for all households. Half of all single parents have less than €1,400 in net wealth.
A copy of the report is available here.
About One Family
One Family was founded in 1972 as Cherish and is Ireland’s leading 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. These services include the lo-call askonefamily national helpline on 1890 66 22 12, counselling, and provision of training courses for parents and for professionals. One Family also promotes Family Day and presents the Family Day Festival every May, an annual celebration of the diversity of families in Ireland today (www.familyday.ie). For further information, visit www.onefamily.ie. The askonefamily helpline can be contacted on lo-call 1890 66 22 12.
Available for Interview
Karen Kiernan, CEO | t: 01 662 9212 or 086 850 9191