Recent Research

April 2025 - 2024 Update of the Children and Young People’s Indicator Set

This is the latest edition of the Children and Young People’s (CYP) Indicator Set, updated to the end of 2024. The CYP Indicator Set is a comprehensive collection of indicators relating to the lives of children and young people aged 0–24 years in Ireland. It aims to track progress across each of the National Outcomes outlined in Young Ireland, the national policy framework for children and young people 2023–2028. These outcomes are for children and young people to be/have:

1. Active and Healthy

2. Achieving Full Potential in Learning and Development

3. Safe and Protected from Harm

4. Economic Security and Opportunity

5. Connected, Respected and Contributing to their World

This report is updated annually by the Data and Analytics Unit and can be found here.

February 2025 - A review of ethical and methodological practice when conducting research or consultation with children and young people who experience poverty

This report has been prepared by Delma Byrne, Joshua Moody, Jane Gray and Aphra Kerr, Maynooth University. This review provides an up-to-date understanding of what children and young people who have experienced poverty have been asked about and consulted on and identifies key methodological and ethical issues. The aim of the review is to provide practical guidance for researchers and practitioners who are contemplating involving children and young people living in poverty in a research project or a consultation. The practical guidance offered in this report can inform future research initiatives and consultations that aim to better understand the lived experience and views of children and young people experiencing poverty. The report is available here

January 2025 - Statistical Spotlight #15: The State of the Nation’s Women and Girls

This Statistical Spotlight report collates available data on the lives of women and girls across five key areas: demographics, health, education, employment and, poverty and social vulnerability. The report provides statistical analysis in each area and examines trends over time. This Spotlight shines a light on how women and girls are faring in Ireland today and over the past decade, focusing on areas like life expectancy, physical activity, educational attainment, subject choice in education, employment rates, the gender pay gap, female representation in parliament, poverty rates and much more.

The report is available here.

January 2025 - Statistical Spotlight #14: Roma in Ireland

This Statistical Spotlight report examines data from the most recent Census of Population (2022), in which Roma was included as an individual category on the question of ethnicity for the first time. The report provides an overview of data available on the Roma population in Ireland, including family composition, health, and education in the Roma community, as well as providing an insight into Ireland’s attitudes to persons of varying ethnicities.

The report is available here.

December 2024 - The State of the Nation’s Children (SONC) 2024 Report

The latest edition of the State of the Nation’s Children (SONC) report. This online report provides a comprehensive picture of our children's lives by presenting key information on children’s health, behavioural and educational outcomes, their relationships with their parents and their friends, as well as the supports and services available to children. SONC provides the most up-to-date data on the National Set of Child Wellbeing indicators.

This report is updated annually by the Data and Analytics Unit and can be found here.

August 2024 – Census 2022 Data on People with Disabilities and Multiple Impairments

This note explores Census 2022 data on people with disabilities, by impairment type, and with multiple impairments. It includes information on impairment categories and overlapping impairments.

The note is available here.

July 2024 - Statistical Spotlight #13: Child and Youth Mortality in Ireland

From Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth

The spotlight report shines a light on how children and young people’s mortality has improved in the past 5 decades and collates information on more recent trends for this group, including how Ireland compares to the other EU27 countries and how mortality compares with children in care and young people availing of aftercare services to the general population in Ireland.

The report is available here

July 2024 – Statistical Spotlight #12: Children and Young People’s Indicator Set – Outcome “Economic Security and Opportunity”: An International Comparison.

The Spotlight collates available data from the Children and Young People’s indicator set outcome “Economic Security and Opportunity” and gives an international comparison. The spotlight report shines a light on and collates a wide source of information on how children in Ireland are faring in terms of economic security and opportunities.

The report is available here

January 2024 - The State of the Nation’s Children (SONC) 2023 Report

The latest edition of the State of the Nation’s Children (SONC) report. This online report provides a comprehensive picture of our children's lives by presenting key information on children’s health, behavioural and educational outcomes, their relationships with their parents and their friends, as well as, the supports and services available to children. SONC provides the most up-to-date data on the National Set of Child Wellbeing indicators.

This report is updated annually by the Data and Analytics Unit and can be found here

December 2023 - Evidence into Policy Guidance Note #8: Managing Evaluation Challenges

This Guidance Note examines some of the key challenges faced when conducting an evaluation, as well as strategies to anticipate and mitigate problems, it builds on Guidance Note #3 titled: Evaluating Government-Funded Human Services, and Guidance Note #7 titled: Frameworks for Policy, Planning and Evaluation.

The report is available here

November 2023 – Statistical Spotlight #11: Children and Young People’s Indicator Set — Outcome “Active and Healthy”: An International Comparison.

The Spotlight collates available data from the Children and Young People’s indicator set outcome “Active and Healthy” and gives an international comparison. The spotlight report shines a light on and collates a wide source of information on how children in Ireland are faring in terms of activity levels and health.

The report is available here

July 2023 - Pathways to Social Work - Surveying the motivations and challenges in becoming a social worker

The UCD report Pathways to Social Work details findings from engagement with students on the barriers to students becoming social workers. The report explores perspectives on social work education, the motivations and challenges in joining the profession, and what can be done to attract more potential social workers

The report is available here

April 2023 - Statistical Spotlight #10: The Mental Health of Children and Young People in Ireland

This Spotlight presents data on some of the protective factors and risk factors impacting youth mental health in Ireland, and examines the prevalence of mental health disorders among young people aged 10 to 25. Data is also presented on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on youth mental health, as well as trends in mental health service provision in Ireland.

The report is available here

April 2023 - Overview of the Policy, Social and Economic Context Related to Growing Up in Ireland Cohort ‘24

This paper was produced by the Research and Evaluation Unit (REU) to support and inform the establishment of a new Growing Up in Ireland (GUI) Infant Cohort. This will be known as GUI Cohort 24’. Pilot data collection by the Central Statistics Office, from a large national sample of parents and their 9 month old infants is scheduled for 2023, with the main phase data collection scheduled for 2024. The paper provides an overview of the policy, social and economic context related to the new infant cohort.

The report is available here

March 2023 - Children in Care and Young Adults Leaving Care: a literature review of Irish research

The focus of this literature review is on the experiences of children and young people in care and adults who have left care In Ireland, and the research /consultation processes used to capture their views. The purpose of the review was to identify lessons arising for the future development, design and implementation of research in this area. The primary focus of the review was on published empirical Irish research particularly over the last ten years. The review also draws on relevant consultations with children and young people and high level insights from the international literature to provide a wider context of knowledge in the field. The findings are set out in the context of current services and available administrative data on children and young people in care and or aftercare; findings from an analytical review of court reporting by the Child Law Project; and a brief outline of the review the Child Care Act 1991 and plans for amendments.

The report is available here

February 2023 - Statistical Spotlight #9: Young People’s Participation in Youth Organisations

This Statistical Spotlight outlines available data on young people’s participation in youth organisations in Ireland and the European Union (EU), from both national and European surveys. Data are presented on reported participation in youth organisations by survey respondents.

This data can help policy-makers and other stakeholders to understand whether there are patterns in the use of youth services, and whether there are any gaps in the use of youth organisations for young people in relation to specific behavioural or societal characteristics. Identifying variation in young people’s involvement in youth organisations across EU Member States and among different subgroups, such as by gender, age, level of education, occupation, social class, family structure, migrant background, disability status, or regional differences, can help to identify whether or not certain population groups are more likely to participate in youth organisations. It can also help to identify potential support needs of certain population groups; to further encourage their participation in youth organisations. This evidence can support the development of effective strategies and policies to promote participation in youth organisations.

Statistical Spotlight #9: Young People’s Participation in Youth Organisations

December 2022 - State of the Nation’s Children 2022

The State of the Nation’s Children (SONC) is an annual publication which provides a comprehensive picture of our children's lives. It presents key information on children’s health, behavioural and educational outcomes, and their relationships with their parents and their friends. SONC is widely used as a resource by policy makers, the research community and civil society, and aims to inform Government policy on children, young people and families.

The 2022 publication is available Here

December 2022 - Spending Review: The Irish Governments Expenditure on Children in 2019

This paper is a pilot examination of the spending of the Irish Government on children, by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs in 2019 (in 2020, that Department became the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth). Given how important spending on children is, it is important to know how much the state spends on children. However, this amount is unknown. It is of course known when spending is explicitly for children, but the amount of total Irish state expenditure that benefits children, with one exception discussed below, has not been calculated. In this paper we introduce a pilot study that estimates total expenditure on children. This report is a first step in, what we see as, a long-term process of understanding whether expenditure is sufficient to adequately meet the needs of children, now and into the future.

Spending Review: The Irish Governments Expenditure on Children in 2019

December 2022 - Statistical Spotlight #8: The First Five Years

The aim of this Spotlight is to collate available data that helps to illustrate key trends in relation to the goals and objectives of the First 5 Strategy (2019-2028). First 5 is a whole-of-Government strategy to improve the lives of babies, young children and their families. It is a ten-year plan to help make sure all children have positive early experiences and get a great start in life. By providing all the available data in one publication, we can identify where more work is required to give effect to the ambitious goals we have set to support families and communities and make sure babies and young children get a great start in life and have positive early experiences.

Statistical Spotlight #8: The First Five Years

December 2022 - Spending Review: Tusla Funded Community and Voluntary Sector Family Support Services

This Spending Review of Tusla-funded Community & Voluntary sector Family Support Services presents the high-level results of a comprehensive analysis conducted by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration, and Youth and focuses on the FSS policy landscape, Tusla’s model for FSS commissioning and governance, and trends in FSS expenditure in recent years. The Review also presents the key FSS cost drivers, as well as supply and demand indicators. The Review concludes with recommendations to help strengthen monitoring and evaluation processes.

Spending Review: Tusla Funded Community and Voluntary Sector Family Support Services

May 2022 - Early Learning and Care (ELC) and School Age Childcare (SAC) Meals Survey: Evaluation Report

This report summarises the findings of a survey of early learning and care (ELC) and school age childcare (SAC) settings in receipt of the meals grant, which has been funded to date by the Department of Social Protection (DSP). The primary aims of this survey were to evaluate the implementation and impact of the DSP-funded meals grants on service providers; and to determine a focus for future funding. The survey presented in this report was conducted in May 2022 by the DCEDIY Research and Evaluation Unit (REU) Statistics team, in cooperation with the DCEDIY Early Years, Policy & Strategy team.

Early Learning and Care (ELC) and School Age Childcare (SAC) Meals Survey: Evaluation Report

On 26 January 2024, Minister Roderic O’Gorman, TD launched a report which focuses on the experiences of people affected by a loss of pregnancy while working, and details recommendations to improve supports for those affected. The department commissioned researchers in University College Cork (UCC) to carry out this research project in 2022, with the aim of guiding the department on how best to support those who experience a pregnancy loss while in employment.

Read the full report here

In September 2023, Minister Roderic O’Gorman, TD launched a report which sets out new recommendations to support members of the LGBTI+ community living in International Protection accommodation. The report, produced by LGBT Ireland, was commissioned by the Department to understand how best to meet its objective of ensuring that LGBTI+ residents in IPAS accommodation are supported, and follows a recommendation in the LGBTI+ Inclusion Strategy.

On 29 June 2023, the department published an Ipsos survey of 3,008 people on attitudes towards diversity and the equality grounds. The department contracted Ipsos to do this poll in 2022, as part of its review of the Equality Acts. As part of that work, the department wanted to understand public attitudes across all the equality grounds. Under the Public Sector Equality and Human Rights Duty of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Act 2014, the department is also required to assess and report on progress on equality goals. Ipsos did this poll between 7th March and 12th April 2023. To read about the results of this survey which were in general, very positive, although with some areas of concern, please read the full report and the press release here.

In early 2022, DCEDIY provided funding to Ukrainian Action in Ireland to assist them to carry out a survey among Ukrainians who have arrived in Ireland since 24 February 2022. The aim of the survey was to understand the structure of the families who've arrived, how they were impacted by war and how they are settling in since their arrival. Following this first survey, DCEDIY provided funding to Ukrainian Action in Ireland to assist them to carry out a second survey in 2023.

To find out more about these surveys and to read the reports from both surveys please visit the Ukrainian Action website.

On the 25 September 2022, a report titled “Ensuring the collaborative reform of youth justice in Ireland in line with international research and evidence based approaches” by Ursula Kilkelly et al was published. This report was funded by the Department through the Collaborative Alliances for Societal Changes (COALESCE), an initiative managed by the Irish Research Council (IRC). To find out more about this important report on youth justice reform, please visit the University College Cork website.

REU is currently assisting or managing a number of commissioned research projects which are at various stages.

In progress

REU is currently commissioning research or helping other units in commissioning research:

• Children in poverty (methodological advice)
• Needs of the older LGBTI+ population
• Support for parents of LGBTI+ children
• Gender recognition for under 16 year olds
• A landscape analysis of LGBTI+ people with disabilities
• Costs of discrimination and benefits of diversity
• Promoting allyship for LGBTI young people in Ireland
• Qualitative Research Study to Examine the Impact of Menstruation and Menopause Symptoms in the Workplace
• Understanding migration decisions of IP applicants, non-pilot qualitative study

DAU / REU staff sit on a number of internal and external research relevant bodies, these include:

• Technical Advisory Group for the Department of Social Protection
• Census Advisory Group
• Public Sector Managers Research Group
• Steering Group of Being LGBTQI+ in Ireland survey
• Implementation Forum and Steering Committee of Impact 2030, the national research strategy. Read more on Impact 2030.