Why so many women are putting off marriage & kids
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Why are Irish women postponing marriage and children compared to past generations?
Love, marriage, and then a baby in a baby carriage. Something that was once seen as the traditional path through adult life, but things have changed. People are getting married and having children later in life, while others are choosing to opt out altogether. With Ireland's birth rate in decline and the number of marriages also falling, have priorities changed. Our reporter Florence Okoje has been looking at this, joins me in studio now. Morning, Florence. Morning, David. Thanks so much for coming. coming in. Has there been a change in attitudes when it comes to relationships, to marriage and to having children in Ireland?
Yeah, there definitely has. Um, the latest figures from the CSO show that the number of births registered in Ireland fell by almost eighteen percent between twenty fifteen and twenty twenty five. And over a similar period, the number of marriages fell by seven point seven percent. And the New Yorker published an article recently looking at the global decline. So it's kind of brought this conversation back into the ether. Um just last week, the Isle of Man reported that the number of births there Has fallen by almost 45% since 2010. So Ireland isn't alone in seeing this shift. And in the UK, the Office for National Statistics is predicting that deaths will outnumber births from the middle of this year onwards.
And across Europe as a whole, both marriage and birth rates have been in decline in recent years. But if we bring it back to Ireland, I spoke to Dr. Joan Cronin, a lecturer in the Department of Sociology.
What do the latest CSO figures reveal about Ireland’s falling birth‑rate and marriage rate?
and criminology at University College Cork about some of the reasons behind those changing attitudes here in Ireland.
We're seeing, I suppose, a social and and a cultural shift. And th there's a number of factors that are responsible for this really. I suppose in order to fully understand it, I think we have to to to look back to the historical context and the control of women historically in Ireland by both church and state. And I suppose really it was the night the late nineteen sixties and the early nineteen seventies when there was a cultural shift, you know, with the introduction of free education in Ireland and women had the opportunity To study more than just home economics or religion. They had the opportunity to go on to third level education in the same way that boys and men have historically been able to do that.
You know, and I suppose the lifting of the marriage bar in the nineteen seventies, which originally restricted married women from working in the public and civil service. You know, so women, the choices available to them historically were marriage, motherhood. joining the the religious orders, the nuns are remaining the spinsters as they would have been all at the time in the family home. Nowadays we're autonomous, we're more educated, we're able to secure jobs in the world of paid employment. So we're more financially independent. And as a consequence of that, I think that we've more choices available to us and increasing numbers of women are delaying getting married, delaying having children, and some women are choosing now
And do you think that finances play
a big part when it comes to women, especially younger women, deciding not to have children or delaying
having children? I suppose look, there's certainly an element of that because the cost of living and the standard of living is consistently increasing. But I suppose it's really important to make the point that Generally and genuinely, if women want children. Finances are not the only reason that are going to restrict them from having them. And we cannot financially incentivize women to have children. You know, we have to look at the other factors. We're never going to go back to the day when women had ten, twelve, and more children. One, two, or three is probably going to be the norm going forward, possibly even less, and possibly none.
How did historic changes like free education and the removal of the marriage bar reshape women’s choices?
But the message to get to the government and policymakers in Ireland is that we need to rethink the financial situation. I think it's not because there's concerns about how we're going to fund our pensions and so on and so forth, but that's something that needs to be thought at government level and it's not an infringement to be imposed on women going forward.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
Why are Irish women postponing marriage and children compared to past generations?
0:00–1:22
2
What do the latest CSO figures reveal about Ireland’s falling birth‑rate and marriage rate?
1:22–3:29
3
How did historic changes like free education and the removal of the marriage bar reshape women’s choices?
3:29–5:34
4
In what ways do financial pressures and housing insecurity influence decisions about family planning?
5:34–7:23
5
How is the growing ‘child‑free by choice’ movement changing social attitudes in Ireland?
7:23–9:01
6
What role do online communities such as Sisterhood play for women who choose not to have children?
9:01–10:55
7
Why do many women feel shame or loneliness when they can’t meet traditional milestones like marriage and kids?
10:55–12:40
8
What policy changes could help reverse the decline in births and support younger families?
12:40–13:39