Research: Research Reports
Commissioned Research
- Family Research in Ireland by Mel Cousins (2006) (.pdf) - Published in 2006, summarises the findings of the research studies funded by the Department of Social & Family Affairs between 1999 and 2004 and makes recommendations on possible further research in the areas identified.
- The Review of the Scheme of Grants to Voluntary Organisations Providing Marriage, Child and Bereavement Counselling Services by Petrus Consulting (2006) (.pdf) - Published in 2006, evaluates the effectiveness of the grants scheme in supporting voluntary organisations working with families.
To view Annual Reports or other publications published by the Family Support Agency see the Publications page.
Grant Aided Research
- Report on Attitudes to Family Formation in Ireland
This major new report was commissioned by the Family Support Agency and explores Irish people’s attitudes to family formation in the context of changes in gender role attitudes and behaviours and the changing nature of the family in Ireland.
The study entitled ‘Attitudes to Family Formation in Ireland’ was conducted by Trinity College Dublin and contains major new findings on marriage, cohabitation and child-bearing in Ireland.
The full report is available here in PDF format: Attitudes to Family Formation in Ireland - Report on Households and Family Structures in Ireland
A study entitled “Households and Family Structures in Ireland” has now been published. The study was conducted by the ESRI and with the aid of funding from the Family Support Agency.
The study demonstrate how changes in Irish society in recent decades have greatly transformed the landscape with regard to household formations, cohabitation and the family structures within which the country’s children now live.
The full report is available here in PDF format: Households and Family Structures in Ireland - Supporting Child Contact: The Need for Child Contact Centres in Ireland. One Family. Published in April 2010.
- The Role of Grandparents in Divorced and Separated Families.
Virpi Timonen, Martha Doyle & Ciara O’ Dwyer, with contributions from Elena Moore. Published in 2009. - Family Figures: Trends in family dynamics and family types in Ireland, 1986-2006. Pete Lunn, Tony Fahey and Carmel Hannan. Published in 2010.
Families Research Programme Reports, published by the Department of Social & Family Affairs (1999- 2005)
- Balancing Work and Family Life: the Role of Flexible Working Arrangements. Peter Humphreys, Sile Fleming, Orla O’Donnell, Institute of Public Administration (2000)
- Marital Counselling Research Project. Colm O'Connor, Cork Marriage Counselling Centre (2001)
- Grandparenthood in Modern Ireland. Francesca Lundström for Age Action Ireland (2001)
- Supporting Parents: a Study of Parents’ Support Needs. Sinead Riordan, Centre for Social and Educational Research, Dublin Institute of Technology (2001)
- Family Formation in Ireland: Trends, Data Needs and Implications. Tony Fahey & Helen Russell, The Economic and Social Research Institute (2001)
- How was it for you? Learning from Couples’ Experiences of their First Year of Marriage. Ann B. Ryan, NUI Maynooth for ACCORD (2002)
- Contemporary Family Policy in Ireland and Europe. Mary Daly & Sara Clavero, Department of Sociology and Social Policy, The Queen's University of Belfast (2002)
- Children's Experiences of Parental Separation in Ireland. Diane Hogan, Sheila Greene, Anne Marie Halpenny. The Children's Research Centre, Trinity College, Dublin (2002)
- Unhappy Marriages, Does Counselling Help? Kieran McKeown, Pauline Lehane, Rosemary Rock, Trutz Haase, Jonathan Pratsche for ACCORD (2002)
- Family Well-being:What Makes a difference? Kieran McKeown, Jonathan Pratschke, Trutz Haase for The Ceifin Institute (2003)
- Young Men on the Margins. Anne Cleary, Maria Corbett, Miriam Galvin, Joy Will. For The Katharine Howard Foundation (2004)
- Distressed Relationships: Does Counselling Help? Kieran McKeown, Trutz Haase, Jonathan Pratschke for Marriage and Relationship Counselling Services (2004)
- From Child to Adult: A Longitudinal Study of Irish Children and their Families. Anne Cleary, Michael Fitzgerald, Elizabeth Nixon. Child and Family Centre (2004)
- Strengthening Families through Fathers: Developing policy and practice in relation to vulnerable fathers and their families. Harry Ferguson, & Fergus Hogan, Centre for Social and Family Research, Waterford Institute of Technology (2004)
- Suicidal Behaviour amongst Young Men. Anne Cleary for The Katharine Howard Foundation (2005)
