Marriage and the Family

The liberal prejudice against marriage revealed

Some people find the evidence that on average the two-parent family is best for children highly unpalatable, and they will resist it strongly. Melissa S. Kearney, a professor of economics at the University of Maryland in the United States is discovering this at first hand with the publication of her new book, ‘The Two-Parent Privilege’....

Social trends in Ireland

Introduction: Ireland has witnessed some very dramatic social changes in the last decades and we see these strongly at work in the area of family life. We have witnessed a decline in the rate of marriage, a huge growth in the number of people who are divorced or separated, a decline in the fertility rate...

A surprising reason why fertility rates have fallen so much

Fertility rates are declining almost everywhere, and we are not recognising the dramatic consequences for future generations, a new documentary highlights. But the documentary comes up with a rarely recognised reason for what is taking place, namely that many women who want children find for various reasons that their wish is not fulfilled. Over the...

Polyamorous relationships on the way to legal recognition

You probably didn’t notice at the time, but a judge in New York opened the door a few weeks ago to legal recognition of so-called ‘polyamorous relationships’, which involve three or more people who are romantically involved with one another. Ruling on a case, Judge Karen May Bacdayan, opined that perhaps the “time had arrived”...

The happiness gap between conservatives and liberals

Conservative women are generally happier than their liberal counterparts, according to a new survey, and marriage and family life are strongly linked to the greater life satisfaction of conservatives. The American Family Survey, an annual nationwide study of 3,000 Americans, found that only 15pc of liberal women of the 18-55 age group are “completely satisfied”...

Budget’s day-care provisions almost totally overlook stay-at-home parents

Press Release from the Iona Institute Budget’s day-care provisions almost totally overlook stay-at-home parents Budget also worsens effects of tax individualisation September 28, 2022  – Budget 2023 is unfair and discriminatory towards all parents who do not use day-care. By allocating 121 millions in public funds towards a big reduction in day-care fees, the Government...

Exploring the link between family breakdown and anti-social behaviour

When we see reports about anti-social behaviour and criminality – for example, the ramming of a garda car in Dublin this week – no-one ever explores whether there might be a link with family breakdown. It would be surprising if this was not sometimes the case. Plenty of studies overseas have established such a link,...

Why Governments should pay more attention to family stability

Almost half of children born in the UK in 2000 did not grow up with both of their biological parents throughout their childhood, according to a new report by the Children’s Commissioner, Rachel de Souza. This is because so many are born to lone parents, or else see their parents (married or cohabiting) separate.  This...

Liberals still ignore the fact that family structure matters

In England last year, a majority of births (51.3pc) took place outside marriage. In Ireland, the figure is now above 40pc. Some might say that this is a purely private matter, but it’s not true, because family structure is important and the evidence remains that children tend to fare best when raised by their own...

One in five wants their children placed in daycare

David Quinn, director of the Iona Institute, discussed on The Pat Kenny Show a recent survey that found that only one in five parents wants their children in daycare. You can listen to the item here.