Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for the question and I am very excited that we are bringing forward a new, third, cohort of the Growing Up in Ireland, GUI, survey. GUI represents a significant and valuable State investment in high quality, policy-relevant data on the lives of children, young people and their families. To date, GUI has generated more than 90 reports and a multitude of findings. These have provided important evidence for policy and have been used extensively across Government and the wider public sector. GUI data are also used extensively across the higher education sector, facilitating scientific research here in Ireland, on a par with best practice in longitudinal research internationally.

A new GUI birth cohort will ensure the availability of robust evidence on the diverse life experiences of a new generation of babies, children and families in contemporary, post-pandemic Ireland. This evidence will support the implementation of the First 5 strategy and the development of a broad range of other policies and services. It will also support the ambitions of Impact 2030: Ireland's Research and Innovation Strategy, which seeks to maximise the impact of research on multiple national priorities.

A new model of delivery for GUI means that, from January 2023, responsibility for GUI data collection will transfer to the Central Statistics Office, CSO, while responsibility for the research aspects of GUI will transfer into my Department.

The new birth cohort will be established under this model, with a plan to start collecting data in 2024. The previous GUI birth cohort included 11,100 nine-month-olds and their parents. The new sample will be comparable in scale, relative to the number of nine-month-olds in the population and their diverse experiences.

Ireland's recently published EU Child Guarantee National Action Plan outlines the significant investment we make annually on vital services for children and young people. A new birth cohort will ensure that the ongoing provision and development of these services is informed by the best practice. I am delighted that so many Deputies have joined us to share our excitement in the new GUI cohort.

See this speech in context