OVER ONE IN six households cannot afford to take their children on a one-week holiday away from home, CSO figures have revealed.

More than a third of renters can’t afford the family holiday, four times higher than the rate among parents who own their own home.

According to the CSO figures, which were reocrded last year, almost a third (31.1%) of children living in rented accommodation experienced ‘material deprivation’ – an indicator meaning the inability to afford certain basic goods and services that are considered essential for a decent standard of living.

One in twenty homes reported that they were unable to afford new (not second-hand) clothes for their children.

Single-parent households, households that rent, had no Irish-born parent, or working adult were more likely to experience child deprivationhttps://t.co/GBlST6fQCC #CSOIreland #Ireland #SILC #EUSILC #SocialInclusion #PovertyIndicator #PovertyRate #Deprivation #EnforcedDeprivation pic.twitter.com/0AJsxOu5Os

— Central Statistics Office Ireland (@CSOIreland) May 8, 2025

Many single-parent households were found to be struggling – one in eight (12.1%) households with one parent reported that they were unable to afford to pay for regular leisure activities (sports, playing an intrument, youth clubs) for their children.

The rate was three times the corresponding figure of 4.3% for two-parent households.

For immigrant families, the rates increased again - 17.1% were unable to afford regular leisure activities for their children in 2024. 

Seperately, one in twenty (5.2%) single-parent households said that they could not afford to invite friends of their children to their household to play or eat from time to time, and a similar percentage (6.2%) could not afford school trips and school events (that cost money).

The comparable rates for two-parent households were 1.1% and 0.6% respectively.

Immigrant households are more likely to experience poverty, with 17.1% of those without an Irish-born parent unable to afford regular leisure activities for their children, compared to just 2.1% of households where at least one parent is Irish-born.