Towards a new governance framework for children and youth policies in Ireland

Over the past decade, Ireland has introduced significant policy, legislative and organisational reforms to promote better outcomes for young people. To support efforts across the government to promote change for children and young people, from 2014-20, Ireland implemented its National Policy Framework for Children and Young People, Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures (BOBF). The framework was further developed and adapted to the challenges faced by young people through the elaboration and implementation of Ireland’s first National Youth Strategy for 2015-2020.

At the midterm review of BOBF, the Advisory Council found that the national policy framework had led to important first-time initiatives. However, it was also recognised that barriers to cross-government working needed further attention along with more prioritisation of policy interventions.

Within this context, the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Structural Reform Support (DG REFORM) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) provided technical support to the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY) in Ireland. 

• Assessment of strengths and weaknesses of current policy and governance frameworks aimed at tackling child poverty and improving outcomes for children and young people in Ireland, and related implementation challenges
• Actionable recommendations to address implementation challenges
• Review of evidence-informed approaches and processes for aligning services and policy initiatives, and embedding reporting and accountability mechanisms within and across layers of government, including an analysis of the monitoring system for child and youth policies and outcomes. 
  See OECD (2024) report: Monitoring and Evaluation of Child and Youth Policies and Outcomes in Ireland.
• Guidance to support the design of policy monitoring tools and to fine-tune and upscale a number of ongoing pilot actions in the field of child and youth well-being and social inclusion
• Capacity-building activities to support the implementation of selected strategies, tools and methodological insights.

This type of support could be relevant for other countries wishing to develop and implement a monitoring and evaluation framework for their child and youth policies and outcomes.

For instance, the OECD has also worked with the European Commission (DG-Reform) and the Italian and Spanish authorities to collect evidence on the impact of youth policies and assess and improve their monitoring system for youth policies and outcomes.

This project is part of a broader effort by the OECD to help countries improve their youth policies.