INTRODUCTION
This is Ireland’s second State of the Nation’s Children report. The aim of the report is to:
- chart the well-being of children in Ireland;
- track changes over time;
- benchmark progress in Ireland relative to other countries;
- highlight policy issues arising.
Outline of report
This State of the Nation’s Children report is presented in four sections, as follows:
- Part 1: Socio-demographics: This section provides information on the child population, child mortality, non-Irish national children, family structure, parental educational level and Traveller children. It also includes a new indicator on children’s ethnicity. Data are largely drawn from Vital Statistics, the Census of Population and Population Estimates.
- Part 2: Children’s relationships: This section provides information on children’s relationships with their parents and peers, including levels of reported bullying and children’s friendships. Data are drawn from the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) surveys and the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) surveys.
- Part 3: Children’s outcomes: This section provides information on children’s health outcomes, educational outcomes, and social, emotional and behavioural outcomes, including, for example, use of tobacco, alcohol and drugs, teenage pregnancy, chronic health conditions, educational attainment and reported levels of happiness. Data are drawn from the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) surveys, the National Intellectual Disability Database, the National Physical and Sensory Disability Database and the National Perinatal Reporting System, among others.
- Part 4: Formal and informal supports: This section provides information on a range of supports, including school, housing, antenatal care, immunisation and levels of economic security, including consistent poverty and ‘at risk of poverty’. Data are drawn from the European Union Survey of Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC), Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) surveys, National Perinatal Reporting System, Vital Statistics and the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) surveys, among others.