Spending Review: The Irish Governments Expenditure on Children in 2019

Young Ireland is the new policy framework for children and young people aged 0-24. Young Ireland Action 10 is a commitment to look at government expenditure which benefits children in Ireland.

Child budgeting is a means of understanding the state’s expenditure on children and is key to ensuring that it is sufficient to meet their needs, is used effectively, and achieves the desired outcomes. There are challenges in calculating the total state expenditure that benefits children, rather than simply calculating direct spending on children. In 2022, DCEDIY published a pilot study The Irish Government’s Expenditure on Children in 2019: A Pilot Study of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs which sets out a transparent, easy-to-understand methodology that can be reproduced across departments. During 2024 further papers will be published on other departments.

Further development of the use of child budgeting will examine the allocation and outcomes assessment across the five National Outcomes.