Time-Use In Ireland 2005: Survey Report

November 29, 2005

News

29/11/2005

 

Time-Use In Ireland 2005: Survey Report

Embargo: 00:01 am, Tuesday 29 November 2005.

By Frances McGinnity, Helen Russell, James Williams and Sylvia Blackwell (ESRI). Published by the Economic and Social Research Institute in conjunction with the NDP Gender Equality Unit of the Department of Justice Equality and Law Reform



Members of the Media are invited to the launch of the above report by Minister of State at the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Frank Fahey, T.D. at the Government Press Office, Government Buildings, Dublin 2 on Tuesday, November 29, 2005, at 10.30 a.m.

 

 

  • On weekdays women spend an average of just over 5 hours on caring activities and household work, compared to 1 hour 40 minutes for men.
  • Men spend substantially more time than women on travel and employment. On weekdays men spend an average of just over 7 hours on travel and employment, compared to 3 hours 47 minutes for women.
  • 71% of Irish men do no cooking/food preparation and 81% do no cleaning/laundry on a weekday, and these figures change little at the weekend. In contrast over two-thirds of women spend time on these activities on weekends and weekdays.
  • Parents of young children report the highest combined time spent on paid work, unpaid work and caring. People in employment and those with children report higher levels of being rushed and stressed during the day.
  • People aged over 65 years have more leisure time - 2 hours more than the average Irish adult on weekdays. At weekends, they also have more leisure time, though here the differences are not so great.

These are just some of the findings from a recent study of time-use in Ireland, published today (November 29th) by The Economic and Social Research Institute in association with the NDP Gender Equality Unit of the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform.



Just over 1,000 adults filled out two diaries that provided a complete record of their activities over a 24- hour period – one diary was completed for a weekday and another for a weekend day. Results of this study provide nationally representative and accurate estimates of the amount of time people in Ireland spend on a wide range of activities from childcare, employment, travelling, cleaning and housework through to watching TV and volunteering.

This is the first study of its kind in Ireland. Highlighting how such data could be used by policymakers, Minister of State at the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Frank Fahey, T.D, wrote in the introductory foreword: ‘For the first time we have a clear picture of the use of time by typical citizens, both male and female. …. The information which is being presented will assist both Government and policy makers as they plan services for the future.’

Indeed these data have an immense range of diverse applications. In addition to the themes analysed in the report, these statistics could be used to analyse topics such as commuting time, social capital amongst older people and personal computer use across different sections of society. Co-author, Dr Frances McGinnity, stated: “This study illustrates the potential of time-use data and sets the ground for a future large-scale study of time-use in Ireland. These data reveal general patterns but for further regional and group breakdowns we would need a larger sample. We strongly recommend that time-use data be collected from a larger number of individuals on a regular basis. Conducting time-use surveys at regular intervals would allow us to analyse changes in time-use in Ireland, an important dimension of social change.”