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Growing Up in Ireland (GUI) is the national longitudinal study of children and young people.
This important survey gathers data on the issues facing children and young people today.
Growing Up in Ireland (GUI) is the national longitudinal study of children and young people that was established by the Irish Government in 2006. It is funded by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY). The survey was first carried out by researchers led by Trinity College Dublin and the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI). Since 2023, the survey has been managed and overseen by DCEDIY and the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
GUI was established to provide evidence for the creation of effective and responsive policies and services for all children and families in Ireland. We study the lives of children and young people in Ireland, to understand the factors that help or hinder development, and importantly, get children’s and young people’s views and opinions on their lives as they grow up.
The CSO is Ireland’s national statistics office, and our purpose is to impartially gather, analyse, and publish statistics and insights about Ireland, our people, our society, and our economy. We gather and collect data under the Statistics Act, 1993 to provide official statistics that are independently produced and verified and can be used to inform decision making across all aspects of our society. The CSO conducts household and business surveys throughout the year, as well as the census, and no individual, household, or enterprise can be identified from the data we publish.
The CSO has been trusted for 75 years and counting to provide accurate and verifiable statistics about Irish life and society. Protecting data confidentiality is at the heart of everything we do. You can learn more about why you can trust the CSO on the Trust section of our website.
Cohort ’98, who turned 25 in 2023, were first interviewed when they were nine years old. They have been interviewed a number of times since then to study how this cohort’s lives develop. We will be asking this cohort to take part again when they are around 30 years old
Cohort ’98 participants were first invited to take part when they were aged nine. This group have been surveyed at regular intervals since, and at the last wave of data collection, were aged around 25. It is important that everyone who took part in previous GUI surveys continues to take part to allow us to understand how young people develop as they grow older. Even if you missed some of the other visits when you were younger, you can rejoin the study now.
As the oldest cohort in the GUI survey, your data will help us understand how young people in Ireland are faring in adulthood.
The information you give us in the survey provides essential data on life course development and helps policy makers when making decisions that impact the lives of children and young people in Ireland. Some policy decisions that GUI data has helped inform include medical card usage and population health planning (Department of Health), children’s use of mobile phones and learning (Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications) and strategic planning for children’s and young person’s cultural participation (Arts Council).
Confidentiality is a core value of the CSO. All CSO staff are designated as Officers of Statistics under Section 20(a) of the Statistics Act, 1993. This means every staff member is legally bound to uphold the confidentiality of the data they have access to. The CSO does not share any identifiable personal data with any third party. Your data and confidentiality are protected by law. In limited cases, data is shared with approved researchers under strict conditions in a way where identities are protected. We only use your data for statistical purposes. That means we remove all identifying information such as names and your specific address.
As well as the strict legal protections in the Statistics Act, 1993, the CSO must ensure compliance with the data protection requirements in the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Data Protection Act, 2018. The Data Protection Transparency Notice for the survey can be accessed on our website.
The CSO will publish the results on our website and on our social media channels. We will use percentages and trends to tell the story behind the GUI survey.
Under the Statistics Act, 1993, CSO may grant access to non-aggregated data files under strict conditions, for scientific and statistical purposes only. Registered researchers can therefore access these files to undertake academic and policy-related research, which is then published at aggregate level.
The GUI survey consults a large number of stakeholders to consider the questions that are relevant to understanding how children and young people develop as they grow older. In this round of the GUI survey, a wide range of questions on the experiences of the young person were asked including topics like employment and income, housing, pastimes, physical and mental health, well-being, and relationships.
The next round of data collection for Cohort ’98 is currently planned for when respondents are around 30 years old. You will likely receive a letter from the CSO to let you know that interviewers will shortly commence and how to get in touch with us. You may also receive a text message.
As part of the GUI Keep in Touch campaign, you may hear from the CSO from time to time via letter, text, or email. When respondents took part in Growing Up in Ireland previously, they provided their contact details so that the CSO could keep in touch. Phone numbers may be used for this purpose only and they are not shared with any third parties.
Please email any updates to your details to CSOTakePart@cso.ie including your full name, address, and date of birth.
Learn about our data and confidentiality safeguards, and the steps we take to produce statistics that can be trusted by all.