From Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth
Published on
Last updated on
Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Roderic O’Gorman, has received government approval for the establishment of a new Growing Up in Ireland birth cohort.
The new cohort will see Growing Up in Ireland track the lives of a new generation of Irish children – babies who are yet to be born and who will be 9 months old in 2024. This will ensure Ireland has access to robust national data on what it is like to grow up in contemporary, post-pandemic Ireland.
Speaking after the government meeting, Minister O’Gorman said:
“This exciting new study will not only allow us to track the lives and development of a whole new generation, but we will also be able to compare their experiences to the earlier Growing Up in Ireland cohorts – those young people who are now age 14 and 24. The specific benefit of a new birth cohort is that it will generate evidence that policy makers can use to assess the implementation of Government’s commitments in supporting babies and young children, such as enhancing work-life balance opportunities, access to high quality early childhood care and education. It will also seek to capture in more detail than previously, the diverse experiences of families and children in Ireland – particularly among smaller subgroups in the population, such as diverse ethnic groups, children in migrant families or those with disabilities.
"We will be able to learn more about the effect of big global issues such as climate change, as well as the impact of specific policies such as extended paternity leave. The new study will greatly benefit policy making across Government as well as facilitate scientific research on a par with best practice in longitudinal research internationally."
Longitudinal birth cohort studies follow the progress of participants from birth or shortly afterwards, and are considered the best kind of studies to track development over time and help us understand the impact of early life experiences on later life outcomes.
Minister O’Gorman also provided Cabinet with an update on progress made on the ambitious new model of delivery for Growing Up in Ireland, which will commence in January 2023. This new model will involve the Central Statistics Office taking on responsibility for Growing Up in Ireland data collection transfer and the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth leading on the research aspects of Growing Up in Ireland. This is a collaborative model for Growing Up in Ireland that builds on and makes the best use of the expertise and remit of each organisation.
Minister O’Gorman said:
“Since 2006, under the stewardship of the ESRI, the Growing Up in Ireland study has made a huge contribution to informing policy and decision making on matters that impact children and young people. Most recently, it has provided us with evidence on the impact of the pandemic on children and young people. The decision to start a new birth cohort in 2024 marks a very exciting milestone for the study and reinforces the study as a leading member of the international family of longitudinal studies. I am looking forward to a very bright future for the study."
Growing Up in Ireland (GUI), the national longitudinal study of children established in 2006, is the flagship research project of the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY) and represents a very significant investment by the State in high quality research and data on the lives of children, young people and their families.
Since its establishment, the GUI study has generated over 90 reports and a multitude of findings which have provided important evidence for policy and have been used extensively across government departments and the wider public sector. The data have been used in a wide range of areas such as early childhood care and education, transitions to primary school, use of GP services, arts and cultural participation, the impact of COVID-19, and socio-emotional well-being and mental health. In addition, GUI provides a sense of national norms that can be used to evaluate more localised data on children and young people; to help understand the experience of specific groups; and to facilitate comparisons with outcomes in other countries.
The establishment of a new GUI Birth Cohort study, would give effect to the commitments in First 5, a Whole of Government Strategy for Babies, Young Children and their Families 2019-2028 to consider the value of a new birth cohort and to improve data on the lives of babies and young children. The First Five Strategy is a whole of government strategy to improve the lives of babies, young children, and their families. It is a 10-year plan (2019-2028) to help make sure all children have positive early experiences and have a great start in life.