Press release
Minister O’Gorman launches 15th Growing Up in Ireland Annual Conference
From Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth
Published on
Last updated on
Today, over 220 delegates from the research and policy world will gather in the Gibson Hotel in Dublin to learn about new research on the lives of children and young people, all of which draws on data from the Growing Up in Ireland Study.
Researchers from across Ireland will speak on topics relevant to government policy makers and to everyone interested in improving the lives of children and young people.
The breadth and diversity of the research subjects, which include topics on the relationship between gambling and mental health, the impact of the pandemic on children, lone parent benefit reform, bullying, and pregnancy complications and childhood mental health highlights the value of the source data from Growing Up in Ireland.
The presentations also reflect whole breadth of ages from infancy to early adulthood. Growing Up in Ireland now has three age groups; Cohort ’98 who are now 25 years of age, Cohort’ 08 who are now 15 years of age and Cohort’ 24 who will be recruited next year at 9 months old and their families. The pilot phase for Cohort ’24 began in October this year and marks the first time since 2008 that new families and children have been selected to be interviewed.
Speaking at the conference, Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Roderic O’Gorman, said:
“I have long considered the Growing Up in Ireland study to be the jewel in the crown in terms of national data assets on children and young people. It has informed policy making across Government on issues as diverse as housing adequacy, access to arts for young children, the effects of the pandemic restrictions on young adults and the impact of screen time on the psycho-social development of children. The fact that we now have three age cohorts is really worth celebrating.”
The conference will also include a keynote speech from Professor Morag Treanor, from the University of Glasgow who is an expert in the impact of poverty on child well-being. Professor Treanor will speak about her research on the interconnected dynamics of poverty, parental employment, and family mental health using data from Growing Up in Scotland (GUS), a nationally representative longitudinal study.
In his introductory remarks at the conference, Kevin McCarthy, Secretary General of the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth said that:
“Ending child poverty is a top priority for the government, so it is with a very keen ear and purpose we listen to Professor Treanor’s research findings on the importance of emphasising the need for a contextualised whole-family approach to poverty and to mental health. We are also very interested to learn how the Growing Up in Scotland Study informed her findings as we see further potential for Growing Up in Ireland data to inform our efforts to eradicate child poverty."
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 January 2023, the Growing Up in Ireland study is conducted directly by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth and the Central Statistics Office. The department is responsible for the research and policy aspects of the Study and the Central Statistics Office for the data collection.
Prior to January 2023, the study was carried out by a consortium of researchers led by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) and Trinity College Dublin (TCD). The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth was the sponsor.
The study includes three cohorts of children. Cohort ’98 who were born in 1998 and are now 25 years of age and Cohort ’08 who were born in 2008 and are now 15 years of age. In June 2022, government approval was received for a third birth cohort, Cohort ‘24– babies who will be 9 months old in 2024. In October 2023, the Central Statistics Office commenced the Pilot phase for Cohort ’24. This marks the first selection of new families and children to be interviewed, since 2008.