JUST OVER HALF of children report getting on “very well” with their father at age 9, as research finds that 18% of children at that age do not live with their fathers full-time. 

The Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) has published its scoping study examining the profiles of fathers who do not live with their children full-time, termed in the report as “non-resident fathers”, and their relationships with their children. 

It comes as NGOs and separated parents have emphasised the importance of including non-resident fathers in research studies.

The report used data from the long-running Growing Up in Ireland study. The study uses data from two separate cohorts – a cohort from 1998, who were aged 9 at the first interview in 2007, and from 2008, who were aged 9 months in the first wave in 2008.

The report found that 14% of children aged between 9 months and 5-years-old did not live with their fathers, rising to 18% by the age of 9. Half of non-resident fathers see their babies or toddlers several times a week, mothers reported, while families with fathers that did not live with their children tended to have younger mothers with lower levels of education, likely to live in urban areas.

Around a third of children aged between 5 and 9 see their fathers at least a few times a week. Just over a quarter of non-resident fathers have little to no contact with their children.

“Although the non-resident fathers surveyed tend to be actively involved in their children’s lives, around half of them would like more frequent contact with their child,” the report said.

Co-author of the report Emer Smyth said that research needs to provide a “comprehensive” picture of the range of influences on children’s lives, including their parents who may not live with them.

“A significant proportion of children – around one-in-six – do not live with their father full-time, so not including their father gives only an incomplete picture of their lives. Parents can differ in their perceptions of the father-child relationship, so capturing both perspectives is important,” she said.

Some 38% of mothers separated from their child’s father receive regular payments in the case where the child primarily lives with their mother. Another 11% receive payments when needed for a particular purpose.