In March 2023, an updated Memorandum Of Understanding between the CSO and DCEDIY on GUI (PDF 359KB) was signed between the Central Statistics Office (CSO) and the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY). The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by Mr. Pádraig Dalton, Director-General of the CSO, and Mr. Kevin McCarthy, Secretary General of DCEDIY.
The purpose of this MoU is to clarify the roles and responsibilities of, as well as the areas of cooperation between, CSO and DCEDIY with regard to GUI. It sets out the roles and responsibilities of each party, describes the legal basis for the on-going operation of GUI, and describes the governance and operational arrangements for GUI from 1 January 2023, under the new partnership model, for the existing cohorts (Cohort 98 and Cohort 08) and for the new birth cohort (Cohort 24). This MoU also sets out a shared understanding of the parties in relation to data protection issues that may arise and roles relating to the compilation, transfer and use of this data. The processing of personal data of data subjects is governed by the Statistics Act, 1993 and the Data Protection Acts 1988-2018 and the General Data Protection Regulation.
Growing Up in Ireland (GUI), the national longitudinal study of children, was established in 2006. GUI represents a very significant investment by the State in high quality research and data on the lives of children, young people and their families. Since its establishment, GUI has operated under the Statistics Act, 1993 through a formal agreement between the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY) and the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
Following a Government decision in 2019 (S180/20/10/0528) to develop plans for the continuation of GUI and provide a stable and sustainable future for the study, a new partnership approach to the implementation of GUI has been developed. Under this new model the CSO are conducting the GUI survey as part of their household survey programme, and DCEDIY continues to be the study sponsor and to undertake key aspects of the GUI study including the identification of research needs, stakeholder engagement, capacity building, a research programme and knowledge transfer activities.