This is the tenth edition of our annual Report Card series, launched in 2009. Report Card 2018 is the second edition of the new series since the publication of A Programme for Partnership Government in May 2016. With this Government came a new set of commitments to be examined in the Report Card.
The Government is awarded an overall 'C-' grade in Report Card 2018, reflecting a satisfactory attempt, with children still left wanting. This is an increase on last year’s D+ grade. The highest individual grade in Report Card 2018 is a 'B' for ‘Child Protection’, with the lowest grade being awarded for ‘Child and Family Homelessness’, receiving an 'E', unchanged since last year. Two sections received a ‘D+’ grade, which indicates a barely acceptable performance, with little or no positive impact or children: ‘Traveller and Roma Children’; ‘Refugee and Asylum-Seeking Children’; The Children's Rights Alliance acknowledges the important groundwork that has been carried out in a number of areas, but it is clear that much more must be done. We look forward to seeing greater progress over the coming year.
Read the main documents here:
Press release on Report Card 2018
Alternatively, you can access the Report Card by chapter:
Chapter One: Right to Education
Chapter Two: Right to an Adequate Standard of Living
Chapter Three: Right to Health
Chapter Four: Rights in the Family Environment and Alternative Care
Chapter Five: Rights in Early Childhood
Chapter Six: Right to Equality
The Report Card is a research tool aimed at improving the lives of all children in Ireland. We would like to thank our partners in helping to produce Report Card 2018, including the Community Foundation for Ireland, the Katharine Howard Foundation, Pobal, the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Irish Youth Foundation.