Republic of Ireland
Getting Ready for School

Preparing For Life unites multiple local agencies in ROI to help disadvantaged children enter the classroom confidently at age five. More »

Facts at a Glance
  • Ireland has one of the highest rates of poverty among developed countries, ranking third highest in the 2005 United Nations Human Development Index. 1
  • Approximately 23.9% of all children in Ireland in 2003 were “at risk of poverty” – the official EU definition of income poverty. 2
  • In 2003, 242,000 children were living in households where the income was less than 60% of national median income. 3
  • Some 18% of children leave school early, 15% leave school without a Leaving Certificate (high school diploma) and 3% leave with no qualification at all. 4
  • The unemployment rate among children who leave school early averages almost 21.9% compared with an overall unemployment rate of 4.4%.5

The Situation in Brief

The Republic of Ireland has made progress in recent years in acknowledging and addressing children’s issues. However, positive steps that have been taken in good economic times are being limited by the stubborn nature of child poverty and the underdevelopment of children’s services. The situation is unlikely to improve and will likely deteriorate with the demise of the Irish economy, often referred to as the Celtic Tiger. Ireland signed the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of the Child in 1992 and developed a National Children’s Strategy in 2000. Provision for children was previously spread across multiple government departments, but since 2005 the Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs (previously the Office of the Minister for Children) is tasked with implementing the strategy and bringing greater coherence to policymaking for children’s issues.

Despite this progress, implementation to date has been poor, services are fragmented and do not meet the needs of all children and families, and youth poverty is a significant problem in the Republic of Ireland. For example, Ireland has one of the lowest levels of provision for early childhood education and care services, and mental health services and other preventive care programmes for young people are chronically underfunded. Moreover, family support services addressing disadvantage tend to be reactive and patchy, and the resources invested in schools do not appear to be yielding better outcomes. To meet the needs of all children, Atlantic seeks to support advocacy for widespread adoption of evidence-based practices that focus on early intervention and equal access for disadvantaged children to timely, high-quality provision.

Children & Youth Programme Goals in the Republic of Ireland

Specific strategies and objectives of the Children & Youth Programme in the Republic of Ireland will be articulated and implemented in 2010. Existing grants by the C&Y Programme were made under earlier strategies and objectives.

Continue to read about our Children & Youth Programme in the United States »

Children and Youth Resources

Footnotes

1, Source: 2005 United Nations Human Development Index
2, Source: Central Statistics Office (2005) EU Survey on Income and Living Conditions
3, Source: Central Statistics Office (2005) EU Survey on Income and Living Conditions
4, Source: National Education Welfare Board Information Update, May 2004
5, Source: Central Statistics Office, 2004

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