In this edition of Like Family, Brenda Donohue examines trends and asks what the family of the future will look like.
Speaking about this week's episode Brenda said: "We are getting older, marrying later and having fewer children."
"These trends make me wonder what kind of families we will have in the future. But some of the answers I got show that families are flexible and resilient in the face of changing trends."
Professor Jane Gray is co-author of Family Rhythms, a study of Irish family forms. She explains to Brenda that what we consider the family - parents and their children living together - emerged in the middle of the twentieth century.
Before that, it was common for many generations of one family to live together or for members of one family to live across several households.
In this week's programme, Brenda sets off to examine the patterns that may emerge as trends continue to change in the future.
As we enter old age, we are more likely to live alone. We have an ageing population, will this mean that there will be lots of single person households? Brenda travels to McAuley Place in Naas, County Kildare.
She meets Mary and Moira who describe the loneliness of living alone, the challenge of living with family and how having their own apartment in a complex designed for over 66s, with shared community spaces, has enhanced the quality of their lives.
Ireland has become a tech hub with global companies locating here. Brenda visited Node Living in Dublin to meet the community curator and residents.
The first person to move into the complex was Justine, originally from Poland, who has travelled extensively for her career.
She is planning a short stay in Ireland and she likes the idea of moving into an apartment where all she needs is her suitcase, her passport and her phone.
Also in this week's episode Brenda meets Robert and Karen who are living with Aidan and Phyllis, Robert's parents, in order to save up to buy a house themselves. They describe the way they share the house to minimise conflict. They are happy enough to do this for now but they don't believe that this would be a long term solution to their housing need.
Professor Jane Gray explains that many more young adults continue to live at home because it is so difficult to establish their own households. While this might have been common a century ago, people's expectations of life have changed.
And she feels that there will be more pressure on policymakers to help families secure their own homes.
Brenda finishes her journey in West Clare with surfer Fergal and Sally who dream of co-housing in the Clare countryside. They already have a community garden and an organic farm.
Whatever the shape of the family in the future, Professor Jane Gray believes that family relationships, with their unique blend of obligation and entitlement, will remain important.
You can listen to Like Family on RTÉ Radio 1 on Wednesday at 10pm.
