Together for Children and Young People in Ireland
Towards a New Governance Framework
![image of Together for Children and Young People in Ireland image of Together for Children and Young People in Ireland](https://assets.oecdcode.org/covers/100/12f4dfb2.jpg)
Ireland has shown a strong commitment to addressing child poverty and improving outcomes for children and young people. Responding to the needs of children and young people, particularly those most vulnerable, requires integrated policies and services. This report is part of a joint project between the OECD and the European Commission to strengthen policy and governance arrangements for tackling child poverty and improving outcomes for children and young people based on a whole-of-government approach.
The report assesses recent policy, institutional and legislative developments in Ireland and compares outcomes for children and young people with those in other EU and OECD countries. It finds that despite progress, Ireland still has room for improvement on child poverty reduction, and more can be done to address the trust gap between young people in Ireland and their government. The report recommends Ireland to adopt measures to enhance inter-departmental and inter-agency co-operation, strengthen evidence-informed approaches, reinforce policy monitoring tools, and improve accountability mechanisms. It also recommends measures to support the effective implementation of Young Ireland, the National Policy Framework for Children and Young People (2023-28), and to ensure policy coherence.
Foreword
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.
- Click to access:
-
Click to download PDF - 350.25KBPDF