THE HUMAN consequences of the ongoing housing crisis in Limerick were revealed in the latest census, showing a 9 per cent increase in adults (20,702) living at home with their parents since 2016.
The highest number (15 per cent) were found to be living at home in the Cappamore-Kilmallock electoral area in April 2022.
And, according to the latest report by the chief executive of Limerick City and County Council, Dr Pat Daly, there were 2,519 approved applicants on the local authority’s housing waiting list, as young working adults continue to struggle to meet rent and mortgage approvals.
Dr Daly’s report showed that 169 housing units had been allocated across the city and county in 2022 and that the Council had collected only 62 per cent in housing rent, bringing in a closing balance of €6.2million.
The Council repossessed 15 homes last July after 76 “Garda checks” were processed.
There were 167 single adults using temporary beds in Limerick on July 17 last. Across the same month there were 295 people (including 121 children) suffering homelessness who were sleeping in local family emergency accommodation.
The Government’s ‘Housing for All’ housing initiative has a target of 502 new builds in Limerick in 2023. So far, according to Mr Daly’s report, there have been four new builds completed and 413 homes are at different stages of construction.
Despite this, there were 11,564 families residing in rented accommodation across Limerick, representing a 3 per cent decrease on 2016, according to the latest census figures published by the Central Statistics Office.
Over 7,360 Limerick families with children were headed by single mothers and 1,444 by single fathers. Just over one in four children in Limerick (3,306) were being cared for by an unpaid relative or family member on the census date, which was recorded in April last year.
Around a thousand fewer children were being cared for by a professional childminder in the childminder’s home.
Families
There were 50,143 families in Limerick in April 2022, up from 49,584 (+1 per cent) in 2016. The average number of children per family in the county was 1.32, compared with 1.34 nationally.
Limerick’s families included 22,239 married couples with children and 3,208 cohabiting couples with children. A further 7,367 families with children were headed by single mothers and 1,444 by single fathers.
There were also 12,404 married couples without children and 3,391 cohabiting couples without children.
The number of same-sex couples in Limerick in April 2022 increased to 303 compared with 207 in 2016. Nationally, there were 10,393 same-sex couples.
There were 11,564 families in rented accommodation in the county (23 per cent). This marked a 3 per cent decrease on 2016.
Private households and living alone
The average household size in Limerick in April 2022 was 2.7 people. This was below the national average of 2.74 people. The number of people living alone in the county grew from 17,624 to 18,313, an increase of 4 per cent since Census 2016.
There were 31,872 people aged 65 and over living in the county in April 2022. Of these, 8,311 were living alone, an increase of 21 per cent on 2016.
Adults living with their parents
In April 2022 in Limerick, 20,702 adults, or 13 per cent of all those aged 18 and over in the county, were still living with their parents – an increase of 1,744 or 9 per cent.
Nationally, there were 522,486 adult children aged 18 years and above living with their parents (13 per cent).
Overall, almost 25,000 adults living with their parents were unpaid carers, 1,050 (5 per cent) of which were in Limerick.
24 was the youngest age at which the majority of people nationally were not living with their parents, up from 23 in 2011. In Limerick this was 26 years.
Of all adults living with their parents nationally in 2022, 57 per cent were male – a figure matched in Limerick.
Almost one in seven (15 per cent) of all adults in the Cappamore-Kilmallock Electoral Area were living with their parents in April 2022, the highest rate in the county.
Childcare
There were 39,474 children (aged under 15) living in Limerick in April 2022. This was 120 fewer than in 2016.
Nationally, there were 1,012,287 children aged under 15 (up 5,735 since 2016). Almost one in three – 331,783 – were in some form of childcare.
In Limerick, 12,568 (32 per cent) of those aged under 15 were in childcare.
There were 5,315 children in a crèche/Montessori/playgroup/after school service in the county (42 per cent).
Just over one in four (3,306) were being cared for by an unpaid relative or family member. A further 2,338 (19 per cent) were being cared for by a childminder in the childminder’s home.
