Ireland has passed significant reforms over the last three decades to enhance outcomes for children and young people. Despite progress, child poverty remains a concern with some groups, including single-parent households, being disproportionately affected. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated these challenges by widening inequalities and having a disproportionate impact on children and young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. The cost-of-living crisis added further pressure on government to place children and young people at the centre of policy. Trust in government has also been impacted, with only 2 in 10 (or 21%) young people (aged 18-34) reportedly trusting their government in 2022. Further, while young people across OECD countries tend to trust their government less than older age groups, Ireland shows the widest disparities, with a 38-percentage point (p.p.) difference between young people (18-29) and those over 50 compared to a gap of 9 p.p. on average between both age groups across OECD countries.

Ireland has committed to addressing child poverty and improving outcomes for children and young people. At the conclusion of the National Policy Framework for Children and Young People Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures in 2020, the Irish Government launched reforms to achieve the Prime Minister’s ambition to make Ireland the best country in Europe to be a child and to meet EU Child Guarantee obligations. In 2023, the Department of the Taoiseach established a Child Poverty and Well-being Programme Office. Additionally, Young Ireland, the new National Policy Framework for Children and Young People 2023-28 was introduced, as was a review of the Child Care Act 1991.

This chapter outlines policy recommendations to strengthen inter-departmental and inter-agency coordination in the delivery of policies and services for children and young people. It also provides guidance to foster evidence-based approaches to policymaking and service delivery for children and young people, and bolster monitoring and evaluation practices and governance arrangements to ensure and promote accountability for policy outcomes. Further, recommendations in this chapter include guidance on the implementation of Young Ireland, Ireland’s National Policy Framework for Children and Young People (0-24) 2023-2028, as well as coordination with constituent strategies.

This chapter provides an overview of existing policy and governance approaches to deliver for children and young people in Ireland. It discusses the most relevant developments in the policy landscape, including the adoption of Young Ireland, the Child Poverty and Well-being Work Programme 2023-25 and the National Action Plan for the European Child Guarantee. It sets the scene for the report by exploring the legal and institutional reform efforts underway to strengthen policy and governance frameworks towards a whole-of-government approach to tackling child poverty and improving outcomes for children and young people.

This chapter provides an overview of selected child and youth well-being outcomes in Ireland. It analyses child socioeconomic outcomes, how these affect children’s access to key service areas, and the effects of children’s socio-economic disadvantages on developmental outcomes. This chapter also explores the outcomes for young people in Ireland, examining socio-economic and public governance factors. Through a comparative lens with OECD countries, it identifies areas of strength and areas needing improvement, providing insights into Ireland’s standing in international comparison.

This chapter maps and assesses the effectiveness of mechanisms created to coordinate policies and services for children and young people in Ireland. It discusses existing structures to pursue a whole-of-government approach to child and youth policy by bringing together relevant departments, agencies, and other stakeholders to address complex policy challenges, notably child poverty and mental health. It also discusses ongoing legal and institutional reforms to strengthen cross-cutting approaches, including through improved multi-stakeholder co-ordination at national and sub-national level.

This chapter discusses current practice and opportunities to strengthen evidence-based approaches to policymaking and service delivery for children and young people in Ireland. It analyses capacity among government departments and agencies to collect, utilise and share evidence that is disaggregated by age and other identity factors and coordinate research within the framework of the Children and Young People (CYP) Indicator Set, with a focus on mapping the needs of vulnerable groups of children and young people. It also discusses the collection of evidence through involving children, young people, and civil society in policymaking, as well as the development of regulatory impact assessments to anticipate child and youth outcomes ex ante.

This chapter reviews different types of evidence that are produced to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of policies at reducing child poverty and improving outcomes of children growing up in socio-economic disadvantage in Ireland. It takes stock of the existing evidence base and identifies any blind spots or gaps. Ireland has the benefit of a broad range of available evaluations, analyses and statistical measures on child poverty trends and drivers, and on the impact of policy measures on child poverty reduction and child outcomes. Nevertheless, key evidence gaps exist that are pertinent to monitoring the European Child Guarantee and Ireland’s national efforts to reduce child poverty and its impact on child living standards and well-being.

This chapter analyses the broader governance arrangements which aim to ensure accountability in the field of child and youth policy outcomes in Ireland. It first provides an overview of the legal frameworks underpinning accountability for child and youth policy in the country. It then looks into the institutional responsibilities, capacities, as well as practices to promote various types of accountability, as identified by the previous national policy framework for children and young people “Better Outcomes Brighter Futures 2014-20”, notably political accountability, inter-departmental and non-governmental accountability, accountability to children and young people, financial accountability and public accountability. It highlights opportunities to strengthen institutional reporting and accountability mechanisms and to embed policy monitoring and evaluation within and across layers of government and the whole of the Irish society for more robust results.

This chapter analyses the development of Young Ireland, Ireland’s National Policy Framework for Children and Young People (0-24) 2023-2028 through a benchmarking exercise employing the eight principles of the OECD Framework for National Youth Strategies. The analysis sheds light on the extent to which the governance arrangements of Young Ireland can be considered evidence-based, participatory, resourced, transparent and accessible, accountable, cross-sectoral, responsive to the needs of vulnerable groups, and supported by high-level political commitment. It also discusses current practice and potential to streamline the governance arrangements underpinning DCEDIY-led constituent strategies, including but not limited to First 5 and the European Child Guarantee National Action Plan, to foster policy coherence.