Irish people are the lonliest in Europe.
New research from the European Commission has found 20 per cent of us feel lonely most or all of the time - compared to the EU average of 13 per cent.
It's seen an increase in people suffering the adverse mental and physical effects of being isolated since the pandemic.
The government is now being called on to invest 5 million euro to combat loneliness in Ireland.
Sean Moynihan from charity ALONE says a lot of people are impacted.
'Whether it's us, whether it's the Samaritans, whether it's the carers, whether it's Jigsaw, whether it's groups that support LGBTQ plus. Everyone is reporting increased levels of loneliness and both the physicals and mental impacts of that happening.'
