Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein)
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716. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the estimated cost of rolling out a baby box scheme similar to those in Finland and Scotland in which the estimated cost of the box and contents would be €170 each. [18234/20]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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Baby boxes for newborns are to be piloted under First 5: A Whole-of -Government Strategy for Babies, Young Children and their Families 2019-2028. Piloting Baby Boxes is just one initiative which is part of a wide ranging strategy addressing various aspects of the lives of children from birth to age five including supports for parents to balance working and caring, developments in early learning and care and health initiatives. 

The gift of the Baby Box is intended as a welcome from the State for a new arrival to a family and an acknowledgement of this very significant moment for parents. The universal distribution of Baby Boxes also reflects an important equality principle that each child is given something of equal value at the start of their life. The concept of Baby Boxes originates in Finland (and has been implemented in a number of other countries) and consists of a package of items to assist with the transition to parenthood. Key objectives with the Baby Box and linked communications will include support for parent-infant bonding, information on baby development and early learning, advice and support for breastfeeding and promotion of infant health and safety.

The pilot will undertake research and consultation to determine items for inclusion in the pack and these may include safety items, baby clothes and toys to support early development and books to foster a love of reading from infancy.

Following consultation on items for inclusion, it is envisaged that a tender competition will be run to select a provider that will be in a position to develop the baby box, including the entire contents and oversee distribution. 

Due to COVID related workload, I cannot provide exact timelines for the roll out of the pilot, but the scoping phase began in late 2019/early 2020 and it is likely that it will be early 2021 before the Request for Tender is issued.

There will be a significant emphasis in the pilot on consultation and engagement with parents and of evaluation of the impact of this measure, including cost-benefit analysis, with a view to determining whether this initiative is suitable for wider roll-out.  If the results of the pilot evaluation deem the baby box initiative suitable for roll-out, based on a unit cost of €170 (to include the baby box and distribution) and the average number of births (approximately 60,000 per annum), the cost of a full roll-out would be approximately €10.2 million.