Publishing of National Policy Framework for Children and Young People’ report welcomed in Carlow

Fianna Fáil TD for Carlow, Jennifer Murnane O’Connor has welcomed the publishing of the sixth and final Annual Report for the ‘Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures (BOBF) National Policy Framework for Children and Young People’.

Deputy Murnane O’Connor commented:

“I welcome the publishing of this report. It shows that strong progress has been made in this area and it also highlights the important next steps needed.

“There is no doubt that we need to further strengthen and sustain these efforts to date. We need to build on achievements and address some of the ongoing problems that severely impact the lives of children and young people in this country.”

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When launched in April 2014, Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures was the first overarching national policy framework for children and young people aged from birth to 24 years. It represented a fundamental change in the way we view children and young people and set out a mandate and agenda for transforming how we work as a collective to meet their needs and aspirations.

Alongside the Annual Report, the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth has also published updates to the Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures Indicator Set. The indicator set tracks progress for children and young people aged 0-24 across the five national outcomes outlined in Better Outcomes, Brighter Future, and help to identify emerging trends.

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The indicator set provides a broad picture of: how children and young people in Ireland are faring, in terms of how active and healthy they are; the extent to which they are achieving their full potential in learning and development; how safe and protected they are from harm; how economically secure they are; and how connected, respected and engaged they are in society.

Some highlights of the indicators include:

• The percentage of 3 year olds in pre-primary school education has increased from 46% in 2013 to 98% in 2018.
• The percentage of children living in jobless households decreased from 16% in 2014 to 11% in 2020.
• The rate of binge drinking reported by young people aged 15-24 years has decreased, from 58% in 2015 to 31% in 2021.
• The percentage of open cases awaiting the allocation of a social worker has decreased, from 31% in 2014 to 20% in 2020.