Growing Up in Ireland

Growing Up in Ireland is the national longitudinal study of children and young people, a joint project of the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY) and the Central Statistics Office (CSO). Since 2006, the study has provided Government with an evidence base to make informed policy decisions on a wide range of issues based on data from children and young people living in Ireland.

For over 15 years, the study has followed the progress of two groups of children: 8,000 9-year-olds (Cohort ’98) and 10,000 9-month-olds (Cohort ’08). The members of Cohort ’98 are now 25-26 years old and those of Cohort ’08 are around 16 years old. In 2023, the study launched a new third cohort of babies who will be 9 months old in 2024.

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Latest GUI News:

  • Key Findings from the Self-Complete Survey with Cohort ’08 at 13 were launched on June 20th. For further information see here.
  • You can see more details on the recently launched ‘Changing Social Worlds of 13-year-olds’ report here
  • The Growing Up in Ireland Annual Research Conference will take place in person at the Gibson Hotel, Dublin 2 on Oct 9th. Call for abstracts extended to July 15th. See here for more details.

Where are we now:

  • A Research Needs Report for Cohort ’08 at 17 was published in January 2024. Piloting for this wave is expected to take place later this year.
  • Data collection with Cohort ’98 at age 25 concluded in April.
  • Data collection for Cohort ’08 at 13 was completed in June 2022. The RMF dataset is now open to applications via the CSO.
  • The pilot for Cohort ’24 at 9 months was completed by the CSO in December 2023.
  • Main fieldwork is expected to start later this year.
  • Please contact the GUI team by email only via growingup@equality.gov.ie