Early childhood is a key life stage and early childhood experiences are crucial not only for children's well-being, but for their subsequent development. There is increasing evidence that social inequalities in outcomes emerge even before children start school, and a large body of international...

The 21st century has seen significant social, political, and economic change on the island of Ireland. This report draws on multiple sources of high-quality, comparative social survey data to explore the development of social and political attitudes in Ireland, North and South, over the past 25...

Labour market inclusion is a key component of gender equality. In recent decades, in Ireland and Northern Ireland, women have increasingly entered paid employment. Yet, comparative research across the island on the level and conditions of women's participation remains limited. Different...

Are we running out of time? This paper uses data from a recently completed time-use survey in Ireland to consider whether the recent employment growth has led to high workloads, time-pressure and a lack of free time. We examine levels of total committed time, that is, time spent on...

This working paper was not circulated. Please refer to ESRI Policy Research Series Paper No. 39 "Non-Cash Benefits and Poverty in Ireland".

Recent rapid economic growth in Ireland has been accompanied by a strong surge in the number of women in employment, and this has led to a significant increase in the proportion of dual-earner families. These changes have brought the issue of reconciliation between work and care commitments to...

Smoking is the largest cause of serious illness and premature death in Ireland accounting for approximately 7,000 deaths annually. Irish people spent ?1.9 billion on tobacco in 2000 - more than on petrol, electricity, coal, peat and oil combined. The Office of Tobacco Control commissioned the...