Number of over-65s living alone has jumped since last census
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Nearly 190,000 people aged 65 or over in Ireland live alone, according to the latest data from Census 2022, of which more than 30,000 are over 85.
It is no surprise that people are living longer, but the number of citizens over 65 living on their own has risen massively in the past decade, while the gap between the numbers of women and men living alone is also significant.
According to the Central Statistics Office (CSO) data from the recent census, the population aged 65 years and over living alone in Ireland in 2022 was 189,574.
In the last census in 2016, it was 156,799.
Just over a decade ago, in 2011, the number was 136,295.
When it comes to those aged over 85, that number has also risen by a significant margin since the last two population counts in Ireland.
In 2022, some 30,072 people aged 85 and over lived on their own.
That compares to 23,102 in 2016 and 19,109 in 2011.
If it is to be broken down to a county level, CSO data show that in Cork City and county, 21,979 people aged 65 and over live alone, with 3,461 of those aged 85 or over.
The data should give pause for thought around the likes of loneliness, security, and transport, according to advocates for older citizens.
Age Action head of advocacy and public affairs Celine Clarke said covid-19 had brought the issue even more to the fore, with older citizens particularly vulnerable to the virus.
"The findings that people in their 80s or older are single are to be expected," said Ms Clarke. "We understand that the majority of those people will be most likely to be widowed, they would have been married or, unfortunately, lost their spouse or their partner.
"We would have seen particularly during covid-19 that the older age group were disproportionately affected by death and bereavement. They weren’t able to grieve or go through the same rituals that we are used to traditionally in Ireland. There are definitely some uncovered and under-researched issues there," she said.
Women are by far more likely to live on their own once they reach 65, the CSO data show.
Of those aged 65 and over living alone last year, 74,022 were men, compared with 115,552 women.
The over-85 breakdown is even starker.
In 2022, some 8,700 men were living alone past 85, while 21,372 women were residing on their own.
Ms Clarke said there is a misconception that adult children or other family members can do the heavy lifting when it comes to caring and looking out for older citizens.
"Contrary to the stereotype that every older person has an adult child, actually one in six women aged 65-plus never had children, and among them, one in five women aged 80-plus do not have children.
"That is an interesting insight because there tends to be a default position, such as going digital or banking online or whatever, that there will be an older adult child who will be able to provide support. That is not true of every family.
"Nor is that an acceptable default position in any case; people should be able to maintain their independence in any case. Moreover, many older people may not want to rely on older children or maybe don't have older children living nearby."
People should not simply be lumped into an over-65 category, according to Age Action.
Ms Clarke said: "Age Action has long advocated for age disaggregated data, by decade, breaking down those cohorts differently, so we can better understand the situation of older people in each decade.
The issue around security and mobility for older citizens, particularly those in rural areas, needs to also be considered, Ms Clarke said.
"I think the situation for people in rural and urban areas is very different, largely to do with transport. In an urban area, you have greater access to transport, you are able to get out and about to maintain your social activity.
"We do know that 70% of older persons without a driving licence are women, and more than half of all women aged 75 or older don't have a driver's license.
"In a rural context like that, it's very difficult for people to maintain their independence and social contacts, which underscores the need for proper public transport that really considers needs throughout the life course.
"There is a stereotype that the majority of people over the age of 75 or 80 are living in nursing homes; they are not, they are living in the community, largely independently, and living alone in many cases.
"That shows we need to consider how we plan our communities, how we plan our transport, how we plan our housing, across all stages of our lives, particularly when we happily reach our 80s and 90s, and even our 100s, so we can live with dignity and independence."