Young families have been the hardest hit by the recession, according to new research from a leading think-tank. 
The study by the the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) shows that households where the adults are under the age of 45 are being hit hardest by unemployment, mortgage arrears and negative equity.
According to the study, the impact on those in their 20s, 30s and 40s has been “disproportunate”.
Younger householders have had to cut their spending by far more than is usual, even for a recession, the study shows.
Increased taxes, lack of access to credit due to being in arrears or unemployment have meant that savings have been squeezed, forcing those under 45 to “dramatically reduce” their spending..
They cannot get access to loans as banks will not lend to people in arrears or where the adult householders are unemployed. This means that spending has to be cut back more than usual in an economic crash.
Younger people are more likely to have lost their jobs in the crisis compared with older and more experienced people.
Younger people have less experience, and firms tend to let go employees who were hired last. And those under the age of 45 are suffering the most from mortgage arrears as they bought at the top of the market.
The people most likely to be in negative equity – where the outstanding mortgage is greater than the value of the home – are those under the age of 30.
This age group is most likely to have bought an apartment, and was unable to continue to move up the housing chain because of the property crash.
People between the ages of 30 and 39 are the next mostly likely group to find themselves in negative equity.
The report, which is largely based on Central Statistics Office data, shows that the average disposable income of householders where the parents are under 45 has declined sharply.
In 1994, average disposable income for young households was just under €600 a week
By the peak of the boom in 2005 the disposable income for younger households had shot up to around €1,000 a week.
But by 2010, disposable income was down to less than €800 a week.
In contrast, older households have seen a rise in weekly incomes since 1994. Over this period the state pension has risen, while older people have got the last of the defined-benefit pensions.
From €400 a week in 1994, the weekly income of those over 45 more than doubled to more than €800 in 2010.
“The financial crisis has affected younger households much more than older ones,” ESRI researcher Petra Gerlach-Kristen states in the report.
It is the first time an academic study has formally acknowledged that younger families are paying a higher price during the downturn.
The bailout troika has repeatedly questioned the universal nature of benefits for older people, such as medical cards for the over-70s, electricity and telephone allowances and free travel.
Older people do not have to pay for a TV licence.
Meanwhile, a separate report found that those under the age of 40 are most likely to ditch private health insurance.
Close to 200,000 gave up health cover in the last five years. Over this time, an extra 50,000 over-60s took out policies, putting massive pressure on the system.
