A Profile of COVID-19 in Ireland - Using Census 2016 Household Data to Analyse COVID-19 Cases from March to November 2020

Households & Housing

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Households

There are 36,471 households represented in the sample of COVID-19 confirmed cases used in this report based on where cases lived on Census night 2016, this is an average of 1.35 confirmed cases per household in the sample.
The average number of persons per household in these households was 3.68, there were on average 2.75 persons per household in all households in April 2016.
In April 2016, 44% of cases were single, while 43% of cases were married (first marriage).

In terms of household composition, 54% of households were in a married or cohabiting couple with children family unit on Census night 2016.

On Census night 2016, 67% of households were in family units with one or more children, compared with 64% of the general population.

In confirmed COVID-19 cases, 88% of cases were of Irish nationality and 79% were white Irish when looking at ethnicity.

Housing

Private houses make up 96% of the sample, with the remaining 4% living in communal establishments on Census night 2016.
- When analysing private households only, we see that detached and semi-detached houses were the most common private homes at 42% and 31% respectively with terraced houses stated as being 17% of cases.

For nature of occupancy, 49% of households own with mortgage or loan, 32% of households were owner occupied without loan / mortgage and 26% of cases were renting in April 2016.

Of those households who were renting, the most common landlord type was a private landlord (62%) followed by local authority (34%) and 4% of households in the COVID-19 sample stated they were renting from a voluntary / co-operative housing body.

In households with a confirmed COVID-19 case, 19% were in overcrowded homes, defined as over 1 person per room compared to the general population where 1 in 10 people live in overcrowded houses.

X-axis label	Household Composition
Married or Cohabiting Couple with Children	54
Married or Cohabiting Couple without Children	13
Lone parents with Children	12
Other	21

X-axis label	Nature of Occupancy
Own with mortgage or loan	40
Owner occupied without loan/mortgage	32
Rent	26
Live rent free	1

Table 2.1 COVID-19 sample and general population by marital status as of April 2016
Marital Status	% COVID sample	% Census 2016 population
Single	44%	41%
Married (first marriage)	43%	46%
Remarried	2%	2%
In a registered same-sex civil partnership	0%	0%
Separated	3%	3%
Divorced	2%	3%
Widowed	6%	5%
* includes population aged 15 years and over
* Census 2016 data amended on 02.12.2020 for population aged 15 years and over
Source: CSO

Table 2.2 COVID-19 sample and general population by household composition as of April 2016
Household Composition	% COVID sample	% Census 2016 population
Married or cohabiting Couple with children	54%	37%
Married or cohabiting Couple without children	13%	20%
Lone parents with children	12%	12%
Other ¹	21%	31%
Source: CSO
¹ Other includes households with one person, related and unrelated households

Table 2.3 COVID-19 sample and general population by ethnicity and nationality as of April 2016
Ethnicity	% COVID sample	% Census 2016 population
White Irish	79%	82%
White Irish Traveller	2%	1%
Any other white background	7%	10%
Black or black Irish - African	2%	1%
Black or black Irish - Any other black background	0.2%	0.1%
Asian or Asian Irish - Chinese	0.1%	0.4%
Asian or Asian Irish - Any other Asian Background	5%	2%
Other incl. mixed background	1%	2%
Not stated	4%	3%
Nationality	% COVID sample	% Census 2016 population
Irish	88%	87%
Non-Irish	12%	12%
Not stated	0.4%	2%
Source: CSO

Table 2.4 - COVID-19 sample and general population by household type as of April 2016
Private Household Type	% COVID sample	% Census 2016 population
Detached house	42%	45%
Semi-detached house	31%	29%
Terraced house	17%	16%
Flat or apartment in a purpose-built block	8%	8%
Flat or apartment in a converted house or commercial building	1%	1%
Bedsit	0%	0%
Caravan, mobile or other temporary structure	0%	0%
Not stated	1%	1%
Source: CSO

Table 2.5 COVID-19 sample and general population by nature of occupancy as of April 2016
Nature of Occupancy	% COVID sample	% Census 2016 population
Own with mortgage or loan	40%	39%
Owner occupied without loan / mortgage	32%	30%
Rent	26%	27%
Live rent free	1%	1%
Not stated	1%	3%
Source: CSO

Table 2.6 COVID-19 sample and general population by landlord type as of April 2016
Landlord Type	% COVID sample	% Census 2016 population
Private landlord	62%	67%
Local authority	34%	30%
Voluntary / Co-operative housing body	4%	3%
Source: CSO

Table 2.7 COVID-19 sample and general population by number of persons per room as of April 2016
Number of person per room	% COVID sample	% Census 2016 population
Under 1 person per room	75%	83%
One or more person per room	19%	9%
Not stated	6%	8%
Source: CSO

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