Before using personal administrative data for statistical purposes, the CSO removes all identifying personal information. This includes the Personal Public Service Number (PPSN), a unique number used by people in Ireland to access social welfare benefits, personal taxation and other public services. A pseudonymised Protected Identifier Key (PIK) is created by the CSO when the PPSN is removed. This PIK is unique and non-identifiable and is only used by the CSO.
Using the PIK enables the CSO to link and analyse data for statistical purposes, while protecting the security and confidentiality of the individual data. All records in the linked datasets are pseudonymised and the results are in the form of statistical aggregates which do not identify any individuals. This analysis relates only to those with a PIK in administrative datasets.
The cohort of children and young people in care in January 2024 includes all children and young people, aged between 0 and 17 years, who were on a care placement on 31 January 2024. These children and young people must have had a referral to Tusla, which led to an admission to care (and the creation of a care record) prior to the end of January 2024 to be included.
The cohort of children who left care since April 2018 includes all children and young people who had one or more care placements between April 2018 and January 2024. It does not include children and young people who entered care after 31 January 2024. The cohort includes children and young people from under 1 to 23 years of age (age in January 2024).
Young people who left care between April 2018 and 31 January 2024 and aged between 18 and 23 by January 2024.
The children in care (all) cohort comprises all children and young people in care in January 2024 and all children and young people who left care since April 2018. Note that children whose total time in care across all placements was less than 7 days are excluded from the analysis.
The all children cohort is based on available data from the relevant primary school enrolment records for academic years 2015/16 to 2022/23, post-primary enrolment records for the academic years 2012/13 to 2022/23 and child benefit records for those children whose parents/guardians were in receipt of child benefit payments since 2015. Note that the full cohort includes children and young people from under 1 to 23 years of age (age in January 2024), and it is noted throughout the report where a sub-cohort is used such as all children under 18 years of age.
Children whose total time in care across all placements was less than 7 days are excluded from the analysis. Children in care and all children who died prior to the end of January 2024 are also excluded. For the all children cohort, those who were classed as residing outside Ireland in all administrative records utilised relating to child benefit, and who were not enrolled in school in Ireland, were also excluded (as children residing in another country may be eligible for child benefit payments if their parent is working in Ireland).
Data on children in care was provided by Tusla from the Tusla Case Management, Child Protection and Alternative Care (TCM, CPAC) system.
In 2018 Tusla implemented a new integrated case management system to manage child protection and welfare and children in care data. This system was called the National Child Care Information System (NCCIS) and was rolled out nationally across Tusla’s 17 administrative areas The NCCIS greatly improved the integrity and consistency of the data collected as prior to its advent Tusla areas relied extensively on a variety of legacy, often paper-based, systems. In February 2023, the NCCIS migrated onto Tusla’s new case management system, TCM, CPAC, which is the source of the data used in this report.
Note that the data excludes children falling under the Social Work Team for Separated Children Seeking International Protection.
Tusla Education Support Service dataset contains data on pupils with school absences of 20 days or more during an academic year. This report relates to the 2022/23 academic year.
The Primary Online Database contains data on each student enrolled in each recognised primary school collected by the Department of Education. This report utilises the relevant enrolment data for academic years 2015/16 to 2022/23.
The Post-Primary Pupil Database is currently the only national archive of student enrolment at post-primary schools. Individual and personal data on each student enrolled in each recognised post-primary school are collected by the Department of Education. This report utilises the relevant enrolment data for academic years 2012/13 to 2022/23.
This is a Department of Education dataset of early school leavers derived from the Post-Primary Pupils Dataset in combination with State Examinations Commission data on Leaving Certificate completion. This report utilises data on early school leavers who entered post-primary school in the years 2013/14 to 2016/17.
The real time PMOD dataset contains payslip information of persons in employment and on occupational pensions since 01 January 2019. This report uses data for the years 2019-2022.
The Programme Learner Support System (PLSS) is a database used to manage course information, learner records and reporting by SOLAS (an tSeirbhís Oideachais Leanúnaigh agus Scileanna), the Further Education and Training Authority. The PLSS system includes records for apprenticeships, traineeships, Post Leaving Cert (PLC) courses, Youthreach courses and community education courses. This report utilises data for the years 2018 to 2022.
The Central Records System (CRS) is a legacy system within the Department of Social Protection (DSP) which holds data on their customers. this report utilises relevant data up to 2024.
The DSP Payments database is the Department of Social Protection’s database from the Business Object Model implementation (BOMi) and Integrated Short-Term Payments System (ISTS). It contains information on welfare payments, including state pension, unemployment benefit and child benefit (adults only). This report utilises data for the years 2018 to 2022.
The ITForm11 database contains the annual income tax returns of the self-employed from Revenue. Data for a calendar year is only complete three years after the reference year, because of the nature of self-assessment, although the majority of records are available about two years after the reference year. This report utilises data for the years 2018 to 2022.
The Child Benefit dataset contains data from the Department of Social Protection on Child Benefit payments to parents/guardians of eligible children. This report utilises data from 2015 to 2024.
Quality and Qualifications Ireland is an amalgamation of the previously operational Further Education and Training Awards Council (FETAC); the Higher Education and Training Awards Council (HETAC); the Irish Universities Quality Board (IUQB) and the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland (NQAI). It provides data on further education course completions and awards. This report utilises data for the years 2018 to 2022.
Higher Education Authority data provides details on annual enrolments and graduations from publicly funded universities and institutes of technology in Ireland. This report utilises data for the years 2018 to 2022.
HEA Springboard and ICT provides information on students who have undertaken HEA springboard or ICT (computing) courses. This data includes course details and basic demographic information for enrolled students, with identifying data removed or pseudonymised. Springboard is available to 2019. This report utilises data for the years 2018 to 2019.
Student Universal Support Ireland data contains funding information for all higher and further education grants. SUSI offers funding to eligible students in approved full-time, third-level education. This report utilises data for the years 2018 to 2022.
Early Childhood Care and Education data provides details on enrolments in the ECCE pre-school scheme and on service providers within that scheme. Data is provided by POBAL and relates to the pre-school years 2020/21 to 2023/24.
Missing values for nationality amongst children in care were supplemented by linking to Department of Social Protection data. Table 6.3 in the Supplementary Statistics section gives a breakdown of nationality values before and after this supplementation process.
The binary categorisation, male or female, is used in this report in line with the current CSO Data Standard for Sex. Within the full linked children in care cohort there were a small number of children recorded in gender categories other than the binary categorisation, male or female. To avoid the risk of statistical disclosure, a breakdown of other gender categories is not included in this report. To ensure the inclusion of all children in outcome breakdowns, those recorded in the other gender categories were randomly assigned to the binary categorisation, male or female, for the purposes of analysis. Please note that the CSO is currently developing a standard reference classification for gender in line with user requirements. This approach will be kept under review. See also CSO Data Standards.
The legal status in this release is the most recent legal status, either the status in January 2024 for children still in care at that point, or the final status of a child before leaving care. The following categories are used:
A care order is applied for when a child needs protection and is unlikely to receive it without the use of one. A care order is usually made for as short a period as possible. If necessary, the Court may decide to place a child in care up to their 18th birthday.
Tusla applies for an interim care order where an application for a care order has been or is about to be made and, there is reasonable cause to believe that it is necessary for the child’s health or welfare, for the child to be placed or maintained in the care of Tusla.
This is where the parents request or agree to their child being taken into the care of Tusla.
This is where the status was not available to the CSO at the time of analysis.
This includes Emergency Care Orders, Special Care Orders, Supervision Orders, Section 12 Orders and other.
The placement type in this release is the most recent type so for children in care in January 2024 it will relate to the placement type at the end of January 2024, and for children who have left care since April 2018, it will relate to the final placement before leaving care.
The child is placed with a person approved by Tusla, who is not related or known to the child.
The child is placed in the care of a friend, neighbour or relative, or a person with whom the child or the child’s family has had a relationship prior to the child’s admission to care and who is approved by Tusla.
The child is placed in a home or institution for the residential care of children. Residential care can be provided by statutory, voluntary or private providers.
Special care provides for short-term, stabilising intervention that prioritises safe care in a therapeutic environment for children at risk and with challenging behaviour. It is an exceptional intervention restricting the liberty of the child and involves detention of the child for his/her own welfare and protection in a special care unit.
The number of placements relates to a child's total period in care up to the end of January 2024 including placements prior to 2018. This includes some overlapping placements, for example respite placements, which are short-term placements provided to a young person to support that child, their parent or a foster carer.
The Department of Education (DoE) publishes data on primary pupils with special needs. In the academic year 2022/23 there were 10,123 primary pupils in a special class attached to mainstream national schools, and 8,945 primary pupils were enrolled at a special school. Hence a total of 19,068 primary pupils were enrolled at special schools or with special needs at mainstream national schools. Note that the DoE published figures include all enrolments, whereas the CSO figures only include those successfully linked to other pseudonymised administrative data sources using PIKs.
The DoE publishes data on mainstream primary pupils repeating a year at primary school. In the academic year 2022/23, there were 1,513 children or 0.3% of all children enrolled at primary school (see bulletin for 2022/23 figures) repeating a primary school year.
Due to the size of the children in care cohort and statistical disclosure controls in place, figures for repeating a single academic year cannot be published. For this report, and to facilitate the cohort size and wide age range of the cohort, a second, experimental statistic was developed where a child is identified as a having repeated a school year if there are two identical enrolments in two consecutive years in either the Primary Online Database (POD) over the academic years 2015/16 to 2022/23 or the Post-Primary Pupils Database (PPPDB) over the academic years 2012/13 to 2022/23. Only mainstream primary pupils and primary schools are included in the primary count. Note that the data excludes private schools that do not receive funding from the Department of Education.
The DoE publishes data on primary school entrants to mainstream classes from other primary schools within the State. In 2022/23 there were 22,716 children who entered primary mainstream classes from other national primary schools, equivalent to 4% of all enrolments. Note that the DoE published figures includes all enrolments, including those unsuccessfully and successfully linked by the CSO to other pseudonymised administrative data sources using PIKs.
While a figure for 2022/23 using the same methodology is part of the release (Table 3.4) for pupils changing from one primary school to another, it does not give any information on older children in care who were in post-primary education during the period.
Hence a second experimental statistic was developed where a child was identified as changing schools if they were enrolled in two schools over two different academic school years in either the Primary Online Database (POD, independent of school type) or the Post-Primary Pupils Database (PPPDB), see Table 3.5. A change from primary to post-primary school is not counted as a school change. Note that the data excludes private schools that do not receive funding from the Department of Education.
The Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Scheme is a state-funded scheme providing childcare and education for children of pre-school age. Children can start ECCE when they are aged two years and eight months of age, and continue until they transfer to primary school (provided they are not older than five years and six months at the end of the pre-school year). The State pays participating playschools and childcare services a set amount per child for the ECCE service, and in return the service is provided free of charge to all children within the qualifying age range. The ECCE scheme is normally provided for three hours a day for 38 weeks a year and the pre-school year is broadly aligned with the school year, i.e in most services it runs from late August/September until June of the following year. Note that enrolment in the scheme does not constitute a record of attendance.
While the ECCE scheme is normally available to children for two years, there are some exemptions to the upper age limits for children with special needs for which an exemption must be sought in advance. Therefore a small number of children participated in the scheme for three years in the period covered but these were grouped with those enrolled for two years to avoid disclosure. The Pobal data available on ECCE enrolments related to the pre-school years 2020/21, 2021/22, 2022/23 and 2023/24. Therefore the proportion of enrolments were looked at for the relevant cohorts aged between three and seven in January 2024, as these would all have been within the ECCE age parameters for at least one year between 2020/21 and 2023/24. Figures for enrolment with more than one ECCE service provider in a preschool year are also provided.
An early school leaver is a pupil within an entry cohort to post-primary education (enrolled in 1st year of the Junior Certificate or the Junior Certificate Schools Programme) who does not sit their Leaving Certificate within five or six years based on State Examinations Commission data and no longer appears in the secondary school enrolment dataset. As an example, children starting the first year of post-primary in September 2013 who did not sit the Leaving Certificate in 2019 and were no longer enrolled in school in 2019 would be considered an early leaver.
For the analysis on children in care and all children, entry cohorts 2013 to 2016 are included in this release. The early leaver and entry cohort data are sourced from the Post-Primary Pupils Database (PPPDB) and the Early School Leavers’ dataset. Note that the DoE publishes the Retention Report on early school leavers. The DoE published figures show the retention rate to the Leaving Certificate stood at 91.7% for the 63,910 pupils of the 2016/2017 entry cohort i.e., some 5,324 pupils left school early. Note however that the DoE published figures include all pupils, whereas this CSO release only includes those which could be linked to other pseudonymised administrative data sources using PIKs, and who were aged under 24 years in January 2024, in line with the stated criteria and age parameters of this analysis. Hence the size of the entry and early leaver cohort for all children in each year published in this release is smaller than the figures published in the DoE’s Retention Report.
Schools submit Student Absence Reports to Tusla twice each year via a secure portal on students absent from school for a cumulative total of 20 days or more in the relevant school year. It is mandatory for schools to submit Student Absence Reports on pupils aged between 7 and 15, or who have not completed three years of post-primary school, whichever comes later.
Tusla publishes an annual Tess Student Absence Report, which includes statistics on pupils missing 20 or more days of school in an academic year. The 2022/23 report was not available at the time this CSO report was published, but the most recent Tess Student Absence Report finds that Student Absence Reports were recorded for 173,072 primary school pupils and 69,097 post-primary school students for the academic year 2021/2022. Note that Tusla's published figures for any year include all pupils with an absence record, whereas the CSO figures only include those successfully linked to other pseudonymised administrative data sources using PIKs.
The following employment/education status outcomes are used in this analysis.
Definitions of what constitutes substantial employment and education in these classifications are provided below.
An individual is regarded as being in 'Substantial Employment' within a given calendar year if they fulfil either of the criteria A or B below.
A. Substantial P35 employment: They fulfil the following 2 requirements:
B. Substantial self-employment: Their total turnover across all self-employment activities is at least €1,000 within the calendar year.
A person is regarded as being in 'Substantial Employment only' if they fulfil either of the criteria above but are not enrolled in education according to the criteria listed below.
An individual is regarded as being in education within a given calendar year if they fulfil either of the criteria A or B below:
A. Enrolment in primary or post-primary school. Due to the age of the children in care, many are still enrolled in post-primary school over the period 2019-2022 analysed in this release. A proportion of children are enrolled in special schools which are categorised as primary enrolments, and hence primary enrolments are also included here. Enrolment was examined using the Primary Online Database and the Post-Primary Pupils Database.
B. Enrolment in higher or further education: The person has a record of enrolment in higher or further education in the year in question. Enrolment was examined using QQI, SOLAS, SUSI and HEA (includes Springboard to 2019) data sources.
An individual may be enrolled in both post-primary and higher education within the same calendar year. However, this is not necessarily at the same time as the calendar year spans two academic years. For example, an individual may be enrolled in their final year in post-primary in the first half of the calendar year and be enrolled in higher education in the latter half of the year.
The type of educational enrolment in Section 5.3 is ranked and the highest is chosen if there are multiple types of enrolment in the calendar year. The ranking is as follows:
1. Higher education (HEA) enrolment.
2. Further education (SOLAS PLSS) enrolment.
3. School enrolment.
A person is regarded as being in 'Education only' if they meet the criteria above and are not also in substantial employment. If they meet the criteria for both education and substantial employment they are classified as being in 'Substantial Employment and Education'.
A person is assigned to 'Neither Employment nor Education' if they appear in any of the administrative datasets used for that year without being classified as being in substantial employment or enrolled in education. They may for example have some employment activity below the threshold of 'substantial employment' or have received some social welfare benefit.
A person is assigned to the category of 'Employment/education status not identified' if they do not appear in any of the administrative datasets for that year and have no recorded activities such as those listed above. Many individuals in this category may have emigrated but there is no definitive indicator of emigration available in administrative data.
For certain outcome tables some of these categories are grouped together as follows:
Throughout this report percentages have been rounded so the sum of individual components may not add up to 100.
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