MORE than eight in 10 couples are pushing back on marriage and having children over the worsening housing crisis, a new report revealed.
Some 60 per cent of couples planning to have children admitted that they would have done so before now if it wasn’t for the housing crisis, the Accord report found.
Almost half of couples planning to get married would have married before now if it wasn’t for the housing situation.
While a third of those would have married in the past three years but didn’t.
The Catholic marriage preparation service highlighted the decline of “the crude marriage rate” reported by the Central Statistics Office.
Director of Accord CLG, Tony Shanahan, said the findings were “significant and striking”.
He said: “Housing supply is impacting on the decision-making of couples who wish to get married and have children.
“This has serious social implications now and into the future.
“Possible practical responses might include Government acting to streamline and simplify the planning process to amend housing regulations for older properties to bring vacant units back into use.
“The hope that young people hold for a married life together, and to start a family, needs to be underpinned by certainty in a functioning and affordable housing market.
“However, there is no single housing market. Different demographics have different needs, and public policy should incentivise development initiatives geared towards the provision of accommodation solutions appropriate to each demographic.”
In the lead up to Valentines Day, Bishop Denis Nulty blessed two engaged couple’s rings.
Bishop Nulty said: “Having the security of a home is an essential start for any couple, for any family.”
At the Shrine of Saint Valentine in Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, Whitefriar Street, Louise O’Reilly and David Lovett had their rings blessed.
The pair had had their first date at ‘The Exchequer’, near Grafton Street, Dublin in 2011 and have been “inseparable ever since”.
They recently welcomed their new-born daughter, Lexi and have plans to tie the knot in 2026
Dubliners Margaret Gleeson and Jimmy Moynihan also attend the annual blessing.
Both widowed, the pair found each through the Ireland’s Own magazine as penfriends.
Both are members of the parish of Saint Alphonsus and Columba, Ballybrack and will tie the knot on May 22.
During the mass, Bishop Nulty said: “Today I am very conscious that for some couples the pressure to own their own home, hold down a secure job, have a promising career path – these pressures can be very challenging and demanding.”
Couples participating in Accord marriage preparation courses has fallen to 5,194 – compared to 7,281 couples in 2023.
