A look at the social impact COVID had on Ireland five years on

Ireland's Central Statistics Office (CSO) published "COVID-19 - Our Lives Five Years On: Social Impact" on Tuesday, March 25.

The new CSO release presents detailed results on how relationships, social behaviours, social interactions with others, and consumption habits have changed five years after the introduction of COVID-19 restrictions in Ireland.

It is the third in a series of releases exploring the social and economic impact of COVID-19 on society five years since the onset of the pandemic in Ireland.

This release provides the second set of results from the CSO’s Pulse Survey, COVID–19 - Our Lives Five Years On. This online-only survey took place between January 16 and February 2, 2025, and explored how the COVID-19 pandemic is still impacting our lives five years on.

The CSO noted that the survey was not nationally representative as people volunteered to take part online.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had more of a positive impact on family relationships than negativehttps://t.co/RHceJlkoRK#CSOIreland #Ireland #COVIDIreland #Health #SocialImpact pic.twitter.com/TGIcNhlCqp

— Central Statistics Office Ireland (@CSOIreland) March 25, 2025

“Five years ago, a series of restrictions were introduced by the Irish government to curb the spread of the COVID-19 virus," Claire Burke, Statistician in the Income, Consumption and Wealth Division, said on Tuesday. 

"Restrictions included limiting social interactions with others, cocooning of the elderly, maintaining one-metre social distancing, mask wearing etc.

"Employees were encouraged to work remotely from home where possible, which has resulted in hybrid working options for some.

"This release explores how relationships, social behaviours, social interactions with others, working habits and consumption habits have changed five years after the introduction of COVID-19 restrictions."

𝐂𝐎𝐕𝐈𝐃-𝟏𝟗 - 𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐋𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐅𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐎𝐧: 𝐒𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭 For the impact of social media on respondents' mental health, 64% of 18-29 year olds reported a negative impacthttps://t.co/ggnhZcXhJQ#CSOIreland #Ireland #COVIDIreland #Health #SocialImpact pic.twitter.com/ON7PxeRCvT

— Central Statistics Office Ireland (@CSOIreland) March 25, 2025

Relationships with Family Members

27% of respondents who lived with their partner/spouse when COVID-19-related restrictions were in place report that the pandemic has had a positive impact on their current relationship with their partner/spouse.

17% say their current relationship has been negatively impacted, while almost half (49%) feel it has had no impact on their current relationship with their partner/spouse at all.

Older respondents were more likely to say that the pandemic has had no impact on their current relationship with their partner/spouse.

The financial situation of the household at that time appears to affect how the restrictions impacted on relationships between partners/spouses. 38% respondents who rated their financial situation in 2020 as bad, report that the pandemic has had a negative impact on their current relationship with their partner/spouse. This compares with 13% of those who rated their financial situation as good at that time.

Respondents who did not work from home before the pandemic but are now working remotely from home at least half of the working week are most likely to say that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a positive impact on familial relationships.

41% of respondents who lived with their partner/spouse when COVID-19 related restrictions were in place and who currently work from home at least 50% of the time report that the pandemic has had a positive impact on their relationship with their partner/spouse. The comparable rate for employees who do not work from home is 23%.

Exactly half of employee respondents who are now working remotely from home at least half of their working week report that the pandemic has had a positive impact on their relationship with their children. The comparable rates for those who do not work from home is 35%.

Change in Social Behaviour

More than half of all respondents - 56% -  report they wash their hands more often now than before the onset of the pandemic while 6% say they wash their hands less often. 37% respondents report no change in their frequency of handwashing. Female respondents are considerably more likely to report they wash their hands more often now than before the pandemic compared with male respondents - 61% versus 51%.

Respondents with poorer health are most likely to have changed how they interact with others outside of their household. Those with poorer health try to avoid handshaking more than those with better health.

31% of respondents who rate their health as fair or bad say they try to avoid handshaking compared with 21% of those who rate their health as very good.

27% of respondents who rate their health as fair or bad say they try to avoid social gatherings. This is almost four times the proportion (7%) of those who rate their health as very good.

59% of respondents report they try to avoid others when they themselves are sick. 68% of female respondents say they try to avoid others compared with 49% of male respondents.

Almost 70% of employees who work remotely from home at least half the working week say they try to avoid others when they are sick while the comparable figure is 55% for those who do not usually work from home.

Less than one in ten (9%) respondents say they try to keep at least one-metre social distance between themselves and others. There is no difference between the rates for male and female respondents, however female respondents are more likely to attempt to avoid handshaking compared with males (32% versus 18%).

Religious Ceremonies

Of those who regularly attended religious ceremonies in person prior to March 2020, more than half  - 55% - still regularly attend in person, 8% say they only attend online, while 37% say they no longer frequent religious ceremonies on a regular basis.

Older respondents are most likely to still attend religious ceremonies either in person or online. 69% of respondents aged 70 and over who attended religious ceremonies in person before the onset of the pandemic say they still regularly attend in person while 12% of those in this age group opt to attend online instead.

Conversely, two-thirds  - 67% -  of younger respondents, i.e. those aged 18-29, say they no longer attend religious ceremonies regularly in any form. 31% say they still attend in person with only 2% saying they attend online.

Structured Social Activities

49% of respondents who were aged 13-25 in early 2020 say they attended some form of structured social activity, such as a sports, youth or other type of social club, at that time.

Five years on, in early 2025, less than half of these respondents - 48% - say they still attend some form of structured social activity with 51% of males still attending compared with 45% of females.

Remote Working

Overall, 55% of employee respondents who commenced working remotely from home since the onset of the pandemic strongly agree that their work-life balance has improved since they started working remotely.

A considerably higher proportion - 63% - of those who work remotely from home at least half the working week strongly agree that their work-life balance has improved than those who work from home less often (38%).

Younger respondents, i.e. those aged 18-29, are most likely (80%) to agree or strongly agree that their job satisfaction has improved since they started working remotely from home while those aged 50-59 are least likely (59%) to think this way.

Overall, 33% of relevant respondents report that working from home has had a positive impact on their relationships with work colleagues. 17% say it has had a negative impact while 45% report no impact.

Consumption

Alcohol: 33% of younger respondents, i.e. those aged 22 to 29, say their alcohol consumption has increased since the introduction of COVID-19 restrictions in 2020 while 40% of this age group report a reduction in their consumption and 27% report no change. 

Junk food and sweets: The proportion of respondents who state their consumption of junk food and sweets has increased since before COVID-19 restrictions were introduced declines with age. 46% of respondents aged 18-29 state their consumption of junk food and sweets has risen since pre-pandemic levels compared with 15% of those aged 70 and over. Female respondents at 36% are more likely to report an increase in consumption of junk food and sweets compared with men (30%).

Exercise: Respondents who describe their household’s current financial situation as good are most likely to report their frequency of exercising has increased since pre-COVID levels with nearly two in five (38%) stating they exercise more often. In contrast, 23% of respondents who describe their household’s current financial situation as bad report an increase in their exercise frequency. Employee respondents who started working remotely from home since the onset of the pandemic are more likely to report their frequency of exercising has risen since early 2020. Four in ten (41%) employees who work from home report their frequency of exercising has increased. The comparable figure for employees who do not work from home is 29%.

Social media: Analysis by age shows that a higher percentage of younger social media users have increased the amount of time they spend on social media since 2020. 69% of respondents aged 18-29 say they have increased the amount of time spent on social media compared with 53% of social media users who are 70 years or older.

Younger respondents are most likely to report that social media impacts on their mental health. 70% of respondents aged 18-29 state social media impacts on their mental health with 64% of respondents in this age group stating that it impacts them negatively. 

In contrast to this, 75% of respondents aged 70 and over who use social media report it has no impact on their mental health. This age group has the highest proportion (14%) of respondents reporting a positive impact on their mental health and lowest proportion (11%) reporting a negative impact.

Pandemic Pets

16% of respondents report they got a pet during the pandemic. A dog was the most common type of pet acquired with 67% of relevant respondents getting a dog, followed by a cat, at 30%.

6% of respondents who got a dog and 3% who got a cat during the pandemic now regret doing so.

Other common pet types obtained include rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs, chickens, and fish, while more unusual pandemic pets listed by respondents include ferrets, mice, rats, lizards, and snails.

The propensity to acquire a new pet during the height of the pandemic declined with age. 23% of respondents aged 18-29 say they got a new pet, more than three times the proportion (7%) of those aged 70 and over.