The State of the Nations Children’s Report has been published.  Compiled by the Dept of Children and Youth Affairs in association with the Central Statistics Office and the Health Promotion Research Centre at National University of Ireland, Galway, it presents administrative, survey and census data on children’s lives.

Some of the key findings include –

– The child population of Ireland increased by 13.4% between 2002 and 2011 (Census of the Population, 2011).
– Approximately 1 in 6 children in Ireland live in a lone-parent household.
– Almost 6% of the child population in Ireland have a disability.
– There has been a significant decrease in the percentage of 15-year-old children who report that their parents discuss with them how well they are doing at school.
– There has been a significant decrease in the percentage of 15-year-old children who report that their parents eat a main meal with them around a table.
– The percentage of children aged 10-17 who report never smoking has increaded from 50.8% in 1998 to 73.5% in 2010.
– The percentage of children aged 10-17 who report never having had an alcoholic drink increased from approximately 40% in 2002 to 54% in 2010.
– Children in Ireland have one of the highest levels of physical activity among 40 WHO countries and regions.
– 83.6% of newborn babies were visited by a Public Health Nurse within 48 hours of discharge from hospital for the first time.

Click here to download the document.