The number of young Irish adults in their 20s living at home with their parents has grown, according to new EU research.
It has increased by 11% - one of the highest increases in Europe, along with Luxembourg and Romania.
The study by EU agency Eurofound shows that 47.2% of Irish people aged between 25 and 29 live at home with their parents.
In contrast, the rate of 25-29 year olds living at home is 24% in the UK and less than 10% in countries such as Finland and Denmark.
Overall, the highest proportions of young adults living with their parents in 2017 were in southern and eastern EU Member States, as well as Ireland.
The rate is 59% in Portugal - and even higher in countries such as Italy (64%), Greece (69%) and Croatia (73%).
Proportion of young people living with parents in the EU, 2017 (%)According to the researchers, many young adults were forced to move home after the recession as they were often the first to lose their jobs due to having just entered the labour market.
The report's authors write: "Despite the financial security provided by living with their parents, young adults’ subjective well-being was better if they had moved out.
"These differences in aspects of well-being were stronger for the older group and are especially present for life satisfaction, happiness, satisfaction with family life and optimism about one’s own future, all of which are worse when living with parents.
"These differences may be related to independence but, in some cases, it could represent young people with worse subjective well-being staying longer in the parental home."
Reacting to the figures, Wayne Stanely from the Simon Community said rents and home prices are just too expensive for many 20-somethings.
He said: "The crash obviously led to a housing crisis - that housing crisis is not just a housing crisis, it's an affordability crisis.
"The affordability is particularly affecting young people."
