Bishop Denis Nulty in conversation with The Irish Catholic at Ballyshannon NS. Photo: Gabriel Berg Housing is the “biggest obstacle” facing couples preparing for marriage in Ireland, Bishop Denis Nulty has said, as new figures from the CSO show the country’s marriage rate has fallen to its lowest recorded level outside the pandemic years.
Speaking to The Irish Catholic, Bishop Nulty, who is head of the Accord Catholic Marriage Care Service, said the decline in marriage is a concern not only for the Church, but for the wider society.
“The CSO statistics showed that the numbers of people in Ireland getting married has gone down,” he said. “Marriage is good for the State. It shows a commitment, a couple to one another, and if we have less people getting married, that’s not good for the State, that’s not good for stability of society.”
The scale of that decline was highlighted in a new Iona Institute report which showed that Ireland’s marriage rate has fallen from 5.2 marriages per thousand adults in 2004 to 3.6 last year, below the EU average of 4.0. The report says Ireland is now recording its lowest ever marriage rate.
Bishop Nulty said the State should “invest in supporting marriage”.
Asked what pressures are weighing most heavily on couples, he said: “I can assure you the biggest obstacle to couples getting married today is housing. It’s huge.” He said couples are facing pressure from mortgages, housing lists, jobs, finances and family life.
“There’s demands going in every direction for a couple. There’s financial concerns as well because there’s pressure. There’s pressure for jobs and there’s pressure for all of those things. But housing I think is the big one.”
The bishop’s comments come as Pope Leo XIV has also encouraged young Catholics to be open to the vocation of marriage and family life.
“Marriage is also a vocation,” Pope Leo said during a huge prayer vigil with young people in Madrid. “Do not be afraid of marriage and starting a family!”
Bishop Nulty said that alongside support from the State, the Church must also do more to accompany couples beyond the wedding day.
“Couples need support in the early years of marriage,” he said. “It’s not just getting married, it’s actually, it’s lonely after the wedding.”
He added: “We in Church need to learn how to accompany couples better.”