LAST UPDATE | 27 Jan

IRELAND’S 25-YEAR-OLDS mostly still live with their parents, are very concerned about the housing crisis and climate crisis, have poorer mental health than they did when they were 20, and have a median income of €558 per week (€29,016 per year). 

That’s according to the latest report from the Central Statistics Office’s (CSO) major Growing Up In Ireland project, which follows age cohorts from childhood to adulthood.

The findings reveal how the cohort born in 1998, who were aged 25 when they were most recently surveyed between April 2023 and April 2024, face many challenges as they navigate young adulthood in Ireland – but they are still largely optimistic about the future.

One in eight (12.7%) of the respondents contacted to take part had emigrated. They did not take part further in this survey, meaning the rest of the results are specifically  about 25-year-olds still living in Ireland.

Nearly seven in ten (69.9%) are 25-year-olds are living at home with their parents, ranging from 63.5% in the midlands (Laois, Longford, Offaly and Westmeath) to 82.4% in the mid-east region (Kildare, Louth, Meath and Wicklow).

Among those living in their parental home, 62.4% said it was mostly due to financial reasons, with a further 22.9% saying it was partly related to finances. 

Of 25-year-olds who do not live with their parents, less than one-eighth are the owner and occupier of their own home. Three-fifths are renting privately. Another 8% are renting from a family member.

Even those who had moved out of their parental home show a low level of mobility, tending to stay in their local region (71.7%).

Central Statistics Office Central Statistics Office

The median weekly income from employment for the participants was €558 in 2022. 73.2% are saving on a regular basis. Over one-third (34.2%) said they had difficulties making ends meet.

Nearly three-fifths (59.5%) of 25-year-olds have a degree or the equivalent of a degree. 

More than half (58.5%) said they were in a romantic relationship. Only 5.6% have children. One-in-ten said they provide care for a family member on a regular basis (excluding childcare for a child of their own).
58.4% vigorously exercised in the past week.

Nearly nine out of ten (89.1%) respondents reported themselves as having good to excellent general health. However, there was a decline in mental health in the group compared to when they were age 20.

Levels of self-reported depression, anxiety, stress, and low self-esteem had increased since 2018. More than three in ten women (31.5%) said they had been diagnosed with depression or anxiety at some point in their lives.

Nearly two-thirds of respondents (65.6%) reported experiences of discrimination at least a few times a year. 

Almost four in ten (39%) of 25-year-olds engage in what the World Health Organisation considers to be hazardous drinking. Men in particular, especially men with higher levels of education, were most likely to engage in hazardous alcohol consumption (51.2%).

A slight majority (51.3%) said they did not smoke nor vape. More than one in five (21.4%) said they had tried cocaine at least once in the past year.

Almost the entire group (97.7%) are concerned with the housing situation in Ireland. 94.2% are concerned about poverty in Ireland, 87.4% are concerned about racism and 85.1% are concerned about climate change.

In terms of concern levels about the global gap between rich and poor countries, there was a significant difference between how young women and men feel about the issue. 88.7% of the women are concerned about this gap versus 78.8% of the men.

There in an even larger gender gap in terms of concern about gender inequality. 88.4% of women are about gender inequality compared with 65.9% of men. 

However, 19.9% expressed that they have no interest in politics and 51.1% had not engaged in any significant political activity in the previous year.

Under one in ten (7.7%) said they had been a victim of a crime such as theft, assault, fraud or someone posting or threatening to post sensitive information about them online in the previous two years.

Overall, the 25-year-olds rated their satisfaction with their life in general at an average score of 6.5 out of 10. This was slightly higher among those who had moved out of their parental home (6.9 out of 10).

Despite the many challenges revealed in the findings, more than half (56.4%) said they are optimistic about the future.
10.7% do not feel optimistic. 15% preferred not to say or didn’t know/didn’t answer, while around 18% are neutral.