The Government said today it will commission Ireland's first long-term study of children growing up in the state.
The study is expected to have a major impact on the types of services and supports as provided to children and their families.
The Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs, Mr Dermot Ahern, and the Minister for Children, Ms Mary Hanafin, today jointly announced the study.
It will monitor the development of 18,000 children from different backgrounds (10,000 from birth and 8,000 nine year olds) through to adulthood. The research hopes to identify what allows children to thrive and what hinders development.
The study was proposed in the National Children's Strategy and the Report of the Commission on the Family. A call for tenders to do the study will be put out over the next month.
Ms Hanafin said: "The absence of research about the lives of children in Ireland has led us to rely on international material. This study means that Irish information about Irish children can influence Irish policies".
The Government will provide €1.27 million to cover the start-up costs of the study.